As the internet eagerly anticipated NVIDIA’s next generation of ray-tracing graphics cards after years of speculation, an unexpected and shocking development took the entire market by surprise.
NVIDIA has long been known as a pillar in computer engineering and AI, but, more recently, it has made headlines for its latest generation of graphics cards, the RTX 40 series. NVIDIA’s Add-In Board partners, better known as companies which receive and modify NVIDIA technology for later distribution, serve to promote the freedom of choice and trust shared between consumer and corporation.
This trust, however, is being put to the test after EVGA, a prestigious Add-In Board partner of NVIDIA, suddenly announced the termination of its partnership of 22 years. Their reasons for separating have left many PC enthusiasts uncertain of the future for both companies.
Andrew Han, CEO of EVGA, recently made a statement regarding NVIDIA’s presentation with NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang. “We are not going to be on Jensen’s lap on stage, so I don’t want people to speculate what’s going on,” Han said.
But why would two successful companies decide to sever ties despite their success? EVGA claims they were treated disrespectfully by NVIDIA, stating that they could not obtain crucial information about next-gen graphics cards until it was released to the public. Other allegations include NVIDIA selling cheaper, limited edition video cards in order to make a profit over its partners.
Junior Jun Oh made a statement regarding the breakup. “I believe that EVGA made an inevitable choice. With NVIDIA being coercive and uncooperative with EVGA and other companies, it was an expected result that some companies would drop out,” he said.
The EVGA situation grew more confusing after Huang provided his response addressing the announcement. “Andrew wanted to wind down the business and he’s wanted to do that for a couple of years. Andrew and EVGA are great partners, and I’m sad to see them leave the market, but you know, he’s got other plans that he’s been thinking about for several years,” Huang continued.
With each additional piece of information released, the situation’s complexity continues to grow. Neither party seems to be telling the whole truth, so it may take some time to see the resolution play out.
EVGA’s decision will, undoubtedly, have implications on the graphics card market, and will also set a precedent for other Add-In Board partners to make choices of similar magnitude. As for NVIDIA, the company still sits untouched as an industry leader in innovating new graphics card technology. While the future of this situation remains uncertain, today’s consumers will still have a wide variety of products to choose from.
