A recent report reveals that Nvidia has raised the official prices of nearly all of its products in response to surging manufacturing costs and tariffs. These hikes, ranging from 5 to 10% for gaming graphics cards and up to 15% for AI GPUs, come amid a series of challenges facing the company. According to sources from Digitimes Taiwan, Nvidia has been navigating multiple crises, including significant export restrictions on its AI chips, particularly a ban on sales of its H20 chips to China.
Rising Manufacturing Costs and Tariffs: The Underlying Causes
The rise in manufacturing costs can largely be attributed to the increasing prices of raw materials, logistics, and production. This has been exacerbated by shifts in Nvidia’s production strategy, including relocating the production of Blackwell chips to TSMC’s US plant, leading to higher operational expenses. Additionally, trade tariffs between the US and China have added further financial strain on the company, forcing Nvidia to pass on some of these increased costs to consumers.
Impact on Gaming and AI Markets
For gamers, the price hike is most noticeable in Nvidia’s RTX 5090 series, which saw its prices surge from NT$90,000 to NT$100,000 overnight. Other cards in the RTX 50 series have also experienced price increases of up to 10%. On the AI front, Nvidia has also raised the prices of its H200 and B200 chips, with server vendors following suit and increasing their prices by as much as 15%.
Despite these increases, Nvidia’s financial outlook remains strong. The company has reported that its financial results for the upcoming quarter should still meet or exceed expectations, driven by strong demand for AI chips outside China and the continued expansion of cloud service providers.
The Future of Nvidia’s Pricing Strategy
While these price hikes are seen as a necessary move to maintain profitability, industry experts suggest that the rising cost of GPUs could have long-term implications for both the gaming and AI industries. As Nvidia continues to innovate and face competition from companies like AMD and Intel, it remains to be seen how its pricing strategy will evolve in the coming years.