Nvidia ships Vera CPU to AI giants, challenging Intel and AMD dominance
Early benchmarks show the new Vera chip outperforming AMD and Intel equivalents, while analysts cite undervalued metrics and strong institutional demand.
Nvidia has commenced shipping its new Vera central processing unit to major enterprise and artificial intelligence clients, including Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Oracle. The delivery began on May 15, with Oracle receiving its units three days later. This launch marks a strategic expansion for the semiconductor leader into the general-purpose processor market, aiming to capture share from established rivals Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
The Vera CPU features 88 custom 'Olympus' cores based on the ARM architecture. Nvidia describes the processor as the world’s first designed specifically for agentic AI and reinforcement learning tasks. According to the company, the chip delivers twice the performance of its previous-generation Grace CPU and is the first to support FP8 precision. Colette Kress, Nvidia’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, stated during the first-quarter earnings call that the Vera CPU opens a new $200 billion total addressable market for the company.
Early performance data suggests the Vera CPU is competitive with current industry leaders. Benchmarks conducted by Phoronix, a specialized media outlet with a long history in Linux kernel testing, indicate the Vera outperforms AMD’s EPYC 9575F and Intel’s Granite Rapids Xeon 6980P in specific tests. The geometric mean results showed the Vera delivering 10 per cent better performance than the AMD EPYC, despite the competitor having fewer cores, and achieving 1.55 times the performance of the Intel chip.
However, the benchmark data comes with caveats. Phoronix noted that Nvidia requested only a subset of tests be performed, a practice the outlet described as highly unusual. While the results were impressive, the outlet cautioned that comprehensive independent verification may be pending, and there is likely room for further performance optimisations in the chip’s drivers. Nvidia is not marketing the Vera as a general-purpose CPU for all workloads but rather as a specialised tool for high-performance computing environments.
Market reaction has been largely positive, with analysts from Bank of America and Tigress Financial reiterating buy ratings for Nvidia stock. Bank of America analysts cited strong artificial intelligence demand and undervalued metrics relative to historical multiples, noting the stock trades below its five-year historical price-to-earnings range. Tigress Financial highlighted record first-quarter fiscal 2027 results and rising capital returns as key drivers. Nvidia’s stock has risen approximately 15.44 per cent year-to-date, lagging some peers but maintaining strong institutional support.
The launch positions Nvidia to become a significant player in the CPU supply chain, potentially forcing competitors to accelerate innovation. While Intel reported a GAAP net loss in its recent results, its shares have rallied, reflecting broader market dynamics. Nvidia’s move into standalone CPU sales through the Vera chip represents a shift from relying solely on ARM’s design to offering custom silicon, a strategy that could reshape the competitive landscape for hyperscale and system makers.
