Nvidia (NVDA) finds itself in an unusual position as rivals close the distance. The company issued a rare public defense of its dominance after Alphabet (GOOGL) rolled out its latest Gemini 3 AI system and signaled expanding ambitions for its in-house chips.
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“We’re delighted by Google’s success,” Nvidia said in a statement shared with media outlets after the Gemini 3 launch. “They’ve made great advances in AI and we continue to supply to Google.” The tone shifted a moment later. “Nvidia is a generation ahead of the industry [and] the only platform that runs every AI model and does it everywhere computing is done.”
The messaging landed as reports surfaced that Google’s Tensor Processing Units could soon be sold to Meta (META) for its Llama infrastructure. Nvidia also privately pushed back against criticism from short seller Michael Burry, with management pointing to what it called “off the charts” sales of its Blackwell chips after the last earnings report.
Jensen Huang Projects a $500 Billion Demand Cycle
Jensen Huang leaned into the long-term outlook. He told investors that combined demand for Blackwell and the next-generation Rubin processors could reach $500 billion by the end of next year.
This figure reinforces Nvidia’s grip on the AI spending cycle for now. The company has added more than $3 trillion in market value over the past two years and is expected to generate $93 billion in free cash flow this year, according to Gimme Credit’s Dave Novosel. Nvidia’s balance sheet is strong enough to support stock buybacks of up to $50 billion if management chose to go that route.
Yet confidence at this scale also invites scrutiny. The louder the victory lap, the more closely investors watch for cracks.
Rivals Make Big Claims and Pay the Price
Palantir (PLTR) CEO Alex Karp declared earlier this month that his company’s results were “arguably the best results that any software company has ever delivered.” The stock promptly slid 20% before staging a modest rebound.
Tesla (TSLA) followed a similar story. Elon Musk said the company had launched “not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book.” Tesla shares have fallen nearly 10% since.
Strategy (MSTR) chairman Michael Saylor said there was “no doubt in my mind” that Bitcoin would surpass gold over the next decade. The stock has dropped more than 50% over the past six months and now trades below the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
Nvidia Keeps Its Throne but the Room Is Filling Up
Nvidia remains the most valuable AI stock in the world and still sits at the core of the global AI buildout. Nothing in the past week changed that reality. At the same time, the need to publicly defend its lead marks a subtle change in posture.
Nvidia is not going away. But for the first time in years, it is no longer racing alone.
Is Nvidia a Buy, Hold, or Sell?
Wall Street is still firmly in Nvidia’s corner, even after the recent volatility. Out of 41 analysts currently covering the stock, 39 rate it a Buy, with only one Hold and one Sell. The average 12-month NVDA price target now sits at $257.72, which implies nearly 43% upside from the recent price.
