NVIDIA GB200 AI server mass production, peak shipments could be delayed until Q2 or Q3 2025

NVIDIA's new GB200 rack-mounted AI servers are still experiencing issues, with a new report suggesting that the supply chain requires more time for optimization and adjustment, and it could see mass production and peak shipments delayed until Q2 or even Q3 2025.

In a new report from TrendForce, their latest report says that the supply chain needs more time for GB200 rack servers, and that it's mostly because of the higher design specifications of the GB200 rack, including its requirement for high-speed interconnect interfaces, and thermal design power (TDP), which "significantly exceed market norms".

TrendForce is now projecting that mass production and peak shipments of NVIDIA GB200 rack servers are "unlikely to occur until between Q2 and Q3 of 2025". The NVIDIA GB rack series includes the GB200 and new GB300 models, which feature even more complex tech and higher production costs.

NVIDIA's new GB200 NVL72 AI server is expected to become "the most widely adopted model in 2025" which will potentially account for up to 80% of total deployments as NVIDIA ranks up its push into the market with GB200. The high-speed interconnect issue stems from NVIDIA's in-house NVLink connectivity (the high-speed connection between GPUs) with GB200 using fifth-generation NVLink and offers significantly higher total bandwidth than the current industry standard of PCIe 5.0.

TrendForce notes that the TDP of the 2024-dominant HGX AI server typically ranges from between 60kW to 80kW per rack, but the new GB200 NVL72 AI server can reach an insane 140kW per rack, which is close to doubling the power demands over current racks. CSPs (cloud service providers) are pushing the adoption of liquid-cooling solutions over air-cooling solutions, because air cooling is no longer enough for the higher thermal loads.