Nvidia: metaverse chipmaker gets reality check

{"text":[[{"start":11.76,"text":"Nvidia is known for its bet on cutting edge graphics chips — the kind designed to power a gamer-led metaverse. "},{"start":18.064,"text":"But a front row to the virtual universe cannot shield it from some very real world problems. "}],[{"start":23.86,"text":"The US company — whose $334bn market value makes it the world’s second most valuable semiconductor maker after Taiwan’s TSMC — has found itself caught out by the increasingly fractious relationship between the US and China. "}],[{"start":38.12,"text":"The White House wants to make it harder for Beijing to obtain advanced semiconductor technology. "},{"start":43.361999999999995,"text":"This week it ordered Nvidia to stop selling two of its top computing chips to companies in China. "},{"start":48.629,"text":"Nvidia warned that the new licensing requirements could cost it as much as $400mn in lost sales for the current quarter. "}],[{"start":56.42,"text":"A 12 per cent drop in Nvidia’s share price suggests investors believe the losses will increase if Washington moves to widen the scope of its export ban. "},{"start":64.937,"text":"China is one of Nvidia’s biggest markets. "},{"start":67.667,"text":"The country accounted for $7.1bn in revenue, or 26 per cent of the group total, last year. "}],[{"start":74.72,"text":"Nvidia cannot easily source alternative markets for its chips. "},{"start":78.787,"text":"The pandemic triggered a surge in demand for PCs, video game consoles and other electronic devices that Nvidia’s chips power. "},{"start":86.179,"text":"But consumers are now cutting back on discretionary spending. "},{"start":89.722,"text":"Sales of tech devices and chip demand have both retrenched. "}],[{"start":93.75999999999999,"text":"At Nvidia’s all-important gaming business, which makes graphics processors used in PC gaming, sales fell by a third during the second quarter. "},{"start":102.089,"text":"Demand is not expected to rebound anytime soon. "}],[{"start":106.28999999999999,"text":"It is not alone. "},{"start":108.094,"text":"Global semiconductor revenue is expected to grow just 7.4 per cent in 2022 and will contract 2.5 per cent in 2023, according to research group Gartner. "}],[{"start":119.19,"text":"But a temporary lull in the chip cycle may not be Nvidia’s biggest worry. "},{"start":123.582,"text":"The White House’s determination to create a homegrown chip sector has encouraged Beijing to funnel more resources into building up its own domestic chipmakers and suppliers. "},{"start":132.324,"text":"The desire for self-sufficiency on both sides could change the global chip market for good. "}],[{"start":137.28,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/81973-1662089631.mp3"}