The Architects of the New Iron Age
Let us look at the three companies quietly hoovering up these redirected budgets.
First, there is NVIDIA. They are the apex predators of this ecosystem. Their processors are the absolute baseline for teaching a machine to think. It is a brilliant, highly ossified monopoly, though you certainly pay a steep premium for that dominance.
Then we have Dell Technologies. If NVIDIA designs the engine, Dell builds the chassis. They bolt together the massive enterprise server racks that house these delicate chips. They are the pragmatic mechanics of the whole operation.
Finally, we find ASML. They are the Dutch outfit nobody discusses at dinner parties. Yet, they manufacture the staggeringly complex lithography machines that print the chips in the first place. Without their kit, the entire artificial intelligence project simply grinds to a halt.