Hong Kong Stock Concept Tracking | NVIDIA launches new graphics card, stock price reaches new high, 2024 becomes the year of AI PC development (with concept stocks)

Zhitong App learned that on January 8th, local time, NVIDIA announced the launch of the GeForce RTX 40 Super series graphics cards, which will allow gamers, designers, and other PC users to better utilize artificial intelligence (AI) on their personal computers. On the 8th, NVIDIA's stock price soared 6.43% to $522.53 per share, reaching a new high and a total market value of $1.29 trillion. At the same time, chip stocks in the US also surged, with AMD up over 5% and Intel up over 3%. CITIC Securities Investment believes that the rapid development of AI is expected to inject new vitality into the market, and it is expected that 2024 will become the first year of AI PCs.

According to NVIDIA, the new additions to the GeForce RTX 40 series include the GeForce RTX 4080 Super, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super, and GeForce RTX 4070 Super. These graphics cards not only surpass their predecessors in performance but also have the superpower of NVIDIA's advanced ray tracing and AI technology platform RTX, which can enhance the performance of games, applications, and AI tasks. All three GPUs will be released in January, with a starting price of $599 or RMB 4,899.

Matt Wuebbling, Vice President of Global GeForce Marketing at NVIDIA, said that the GeForce RTX 40 Super series supports over 500 RTX games and apps, allowing users to be prepared for the wave of generative AI apps on PCs.

In addition, NVIDIA announced that several electric vehicle companies have adopted NVIDIA's autonomous driving car hardware, NVIDIA DRIVE. Among them, NIO has chosen to use NVIDIA's in-vehicle computing platform DRIVE Thor to develop its next-generation vehicles. In addition, Great Wall Motors, Xpeng, and Xiaomi have all adopted NVIDIA's intelligent automotive central computer DRIVE Orin to assist in their respective intelligent autonomous driving systems.

It is worth mentioning that NVIDIA stated that the features of its new products will not trigger the restrictions set by the US government on exporting AI-related chips to China.

With the development of AI, not only the Internet but also hardware such as personal computers have undergone significant changes. It can be said that AI PCs have become the next race track for chip companies. In China, many well-known PC manufacturers have actively entered the AI PC field. Brands such as Lenovo, ASUS, MSI, ThinkPad, and Mechrevo have launched AI PC products, followed by foreign companies such as Dell and HP. For the traditional PC market, with the rapid expansion of the AI PC market, upstream and downstream companies in the PC industry chain are facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges. According to Intel's official forecast, AI PCs will occupy 80% of the market share in the next four years, and they plan to equip over 100 million PCs with AI capabilities by 2025. This trend not only demonstrates the enormous potential of AI PCs but also indicates that upstream and downstream companies in the industry chain will face significant market changes.

According to Qunzhi Consulting, in 2024, which is considered the first year of AI PC development, the shipment volume of AI PCs will reach 13 million units, with a market penetration rate of 7%. By 2025, the penetration rate will approach 30%, and in 2026, it will exceed 50%.

"2024 will be the first year of AI PC development, and many manufacturers will launch PC devices with AI engines to ensure the realization of AI functions in various scenarios in the future." Chen Shuxin, Senior Research Manager at IDC China, also stated that AI PCs in different scenarios are rapidly integrating and are involved in a wide range of fields.

Minsheng Securities believes that major PC manufacturers are actively exploring the new form of AI PCs. With the promotion of AI applications by companies such as Microsoft and the introduction of CPUs with integrated AI modules by Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, brands such as Lenovo, HP, and Dell are expected to launch AI PC products successively. AI may set off a wave in the PC terminal. With the recovery of market demand and the gradual reduction of inventory, the PC market adjustment is basically completed and is expected to continue to recover. The landing of generative AI models such as Copilot in PC applications is expected to usher in a wave of AI PCs.

Huachuang Securities pointed out that the demand for large-scale localization of big models is driven by low latency and privacy protection. AI PCs with edge computing power are expected to solve industry pain points and become the first batch of AI terminals to be widely used. AI PCs can realize some AI applications on the PC user side, which is expected to drive a large number of PC upgrade demands and may lead the PC industry into a new cycle of growth.

Relevant concept stocks:

Lenovo Group (00992): On January 9th, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Lenovo Group showcased more than 40 AI-based devices and solutions. According to reports, at CES 2024, Lenovo Group showcased over 10 AI PCs, such as Yoga Pro 9i, the world's first seamless switching laptop and tablet mode ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid, the world's first business AI PC - ThinkPad X1 Carbon AI, and the new generation ultra-compact ThinkCentre neo Ultra. SMIC (00981): The company is the most advanced integrated circuit manufacturing enterprise in mainland China, with the most complete supporting facilities, the largest scale, and multinational operations. It provides wafer foundry and technical services for different technology nodes ranging from 0.35 micrometers to 14 nanometers.

HHGrace (01347): The company's main customers are domestic design manufacturers. In terms of main products such as power semiconductors and MCU products, the main customers include XinJieNeng (IGBT and super junction), StarPower Semiconductor (IGBT), and AWEI Electronics (MCU). The main customers for RF devices are domestic leading design company ZHONGSHENG Micro, and the main customers for CIS include Goke Micro and Howay Technology (Vishay).