Nvidia’s cutting-edge graphics cards, the H100 processors, are seeing prices north of $40,000 on eBay, as the appetite for chips essential to develop and implement artificial intelligence (AI) software keeps expanding. John Carmack, a pioneer in 3D gaming and ex-consulting technology chief at Meta, drew attention to the H100 processors’ prices on Twitter. As of Friday, at least eight H100s were listed on eBay, with prices between $39,995 and just under $46,000. Some retailers have sold the H100 for approximately $36,000 in the past.

Nvidia’s top A.I. chips are selling for more than $40,000 on eBay

Launched last year, the H100 represents Nvidia’s most recent flagship AI chip, replacing the A100, a roughly $10,000 chip often referred to as the AI application “workhorse.” Developers utilize the H100 to create large language models (LLMs), which underpin AI applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Running these systems necessitates powerful computers that can process terabytes of data for extended periods. Additionally, they depend on significant computing power for generating text, images, or predictions.

The collaboration of hundreds of top-tier Nvidia GPUs is essential for training AI models, especially sizable ones like GPT. Microsoft has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in tens of thousands of Nvidia A100 chips for ChatGPT development. Nvidia currently holds a significant share of the AI chip market. Nvidia’s offerings also include the DGX supercomputer, which houses eight GPUs working together. The company announced new services earlier this year that enable businesses to rent DGX computers for $37,000 per month.

However, the system uses Nvidia’s older A100 processors at this price point. According to Nvidia, the H100 is the first chip tailored to the specific AI architecture responsible for numerous recent AI breakthroughs, known as transformers. Industry insiders anticipate the need for even more powerful chips to create larger and more data-intensive models than those presently available.

Nvidia H100

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