Nvidia's Jetson AGX Thor Robotics Development Kit Now Available for $3,499

Nvidia (NVDA.O) announced on Monday that its latest robotics chip module, Jetson AGX Thor, is now available as a development kit for $3,499. The company is calling this chip the "robot brain."

Nvidia stated last week that the first kits would ship next month, and customers can use these chips to build robots. Once businesses complete robot prototypes using the development kit, Nvidia will sell Thor T5000 modules that can be directly installed in production robots. If businesses purchase over 1,000 Thor chips, Nvidia will sell them at $2,999 per chip.

The company's CEO, Jensen Huang, stated that robotics is the company’s largest growth opportunity outside of artificial intelligence, which has already more than tripled Nvidia’s overall sales in the past two years. Deepu Talla, Nvidia's vice president of robotics and edge AI, said on a call with reporters last Friday, “We don’t build robots, we don’t build cars, but we enable the entire industry with infrastructure computers and related software.”

The Jetson Thor chip is based on the Blackwell graphics processor, which is Nvidia’s current generation of technology used in AI chips and computer gaming chips. Nvidia says that the Jetson Thor chip is 7.5 times faster than its predecessor and capable of running generative AI models, including large language models and vision models that can understand the world around them, which is critical for humanoid robots. The Jetson Thor chip is equipped with 128GB of memory to support large AI models.

Nvidia reports that companies including Agility Robotics, Amazon, Meta, and Boston Dynamics are using its Jetson chips. Nvidia has also invested in robotics companies such as Field AI. However, the robotics business still accounts for a very small portion of Nvidia’s overall revenue, only about 1%, though the business is growing rapidly since the company has introduced multiple robotics chips since 2014.

Nvidia recently combined its automotive and robotics businesses into the same division. In May this year, the division reported quarterly sales of $567 million, a significant increase of 72% year-over-year. The company says that the Jetson Thor chip can also be used in self-driving cars, especially those of Chinese brands. Nvidia calls its car chip Drive AGX, although it is similar to the robotics chip, it runs Drive OS, which is specifically optimized for automotive uses.

Analyzing the Robotics and AI Market

The launch of the Jetson AGX Thor represents a strategic move by Nvidia to capitalize on the accelerating growth in the robotics and AI market. With increasing reliance on robots in various industries, from manufacturing to logistics, there's a growing demand for powerful and efficient chips capable of processing vast amounts of data and running complex AI models. Nvidia aims to meet this demand by offering integrated solutions that combine the hardware and software necessary for developing and deploying advanced robots.

Potential Impact on Industries

The Jetson AGX Thor is expected to have a significant impact on a variety of industries. In manufacturing, this chip can help develop more intelligent and flexible robots capable of performing complex tasks with precision and efficiency. In logistics, it can aid in the development of autonomous robots capable of navigating warehouses and logistics centers efficiently. And in healthcare, it can help develop precise surgical robots and patient care robots.

Future Challenges and Opportunities

Despite the immense potential of the Jetson AGX Thor, there are some challenges that need to be addressed. One of these challenges is cost, as the price of $3,499 for the development kit may be a barrier for some small and medium-sized businesses. However, the cost is expected to decrease over time as production volume increases. Additionally, there are challenges related to developing the software and algorithms needed to fully leverage the chip's capabilities. However, Nvidia is actively providing development tools and open-source software to help overcome these challenges.