Nvidia is quietly building a multibillion-dollar behemoth to rival its chips business | TechCrunch

"In just a few years, Nvidia's networking business, designed to connect data centers, has grown into the company's second-largest revenue driver behind compute. Last quarter, it reported $11 billion in revenue, a year-over-year increase of 267%, and brought in more than $31 billion for the full year, according to Nvidia's most recent earnings."

"Driven by growth in AI processing, the division includes tech like NVLink, which powers communication between GPUs on a data center rack, Nvidia InfiniBand Switches, an in-network computing platform, Spectrum-X, the ethernet platform for AI networking, and co-packaged optics switches, among others. Together, Nvidia's networking business includes all the tech needed for building an "AI factory," a data center designed for training AI models."

"Kevin Cook, a senior equity strategist at Zacks Investment research, told TechCrunch that Nvidia's networking business is one of the most impressive new segments from the company. "[Nvidia's networking business] reports $11 billion for the quarter; that number is greater than Cisco's networking business, almost as big as the full-year estimates," Cook said, adding it does in one quarter what Cisco's business does in a year."

Nvidia's networking business has emerged as a major revenue driver, generating $31 billion annually and growing 267% year-over-year, making it the company's second-largest segment behind compute. This division provides essential infrastructure for AI data centers, including NVLink for GPU communication, InfiniBand switches, Spectrum-X ethernet platforms, and co-packaged optics. Together, these technologies enable the construction of "AI factories" designed for training AI models. The networking business accomplishes in one quarter what Cisco's networking division achieves in an entire year, yet receives significantly less market attention than Nvidia's chip or gaming businesses. This growth stems from a strategic 2020 acquisition that positioned Nvidia to capitalize on the explosive demand for AI infrastructure.

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