Musk and Ellison seek Nvidia GPUs at Nobu dinner

During a recent dinner at Nobu Palo Alto, Elon Musk and Larry Ellison made a strong appeal to Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, for additional GPUs. Ellison humorously recounted their request, emphasizing their willingness to pay for more chips, stating, 'Please take our money.' The dinner was deemed successful by Ellison, who noted that their discussions were productive. Both Musk and Ellison are heavily invested in AI technology, with Tesla relying on Nvidia GPUs for its self-driving neural networks and Oracle maintaining a close relationship with Nvidia, which leads the AI chip market. The demand for high-performance memory chips is expected to remain high, driven by the increasing need for AI technology. Major suppliers like SK Hynix and Micron Technology are already experiencing shortages, with stock for 2025 nearly depleted. This supply constraint is further complicated by U.S. sanctions on advanced chips to China, which have exacerbated the crisis surrounding Nvidia's RTX 4090 graphics cards. Musk has previously acknowledged Nvidia's impressive market cap, which reached $2.55 trillion, making it the third most-valued corporation globally. He has also diverted Nvidia chips intended for Tesla to his other ventures, including X and xAI, due to existing production commitments for vehicles and batteries. This decision highlights the intense competition for GPU resources among tech companies. Ellison's emphasis on the importance of building capable neural networks reflects the broader trend in the tech industry, where being first to market with advanced AI capabilities can lead to significant competitive advantages. The dinner at Nobu underscores the urgency and high stakes involved in securing the necessary technology to drive innovation in their respective fields.