Nvidia Feels the Heat: Google’s Gemini 3 Jolts the AI King as Competition Closes In

Nvidia, long the undisputed monarch of the AI hardware world, has found itself doing something highly unusual: turning on the charm. With its crown as the world’s most valuable stock now facing serious pressure, the chip giant is publicly applauding its biggest emerging threat—Google.

Following Alphabet’s launch of the Gemini 3 chatbot, Nvidia issued a statement to multiple media outlets, including Barron’s, praising Google’s achievement. It then reposted the same message on its official social channels. On the surface, it was all smiles: “We’re delighted by Google’s success.” But beneath the compliments was a clear strategic message—Nvidia wants to signal strength while acknowledging a fast-rising competitor.

Google’s AI momentum is no longer just about software. The company’s homegrown chips, Tensor Processing Units, are reportedly being pitched to Meta Platforms for powering Llama, its generative AI systems. If that deal materializes, two of the world’s biggest AI players could begin shifting part of their infrastructure away from Nvidia—an undeniable competitive threat.

Nvidia’s full statement eventually pivoted from congratulations to confident self-promotion, emphasizing that its platform remains “a generation ahead” and the only system capable of running every AI model across every computing environment. It touted the “fungibility,” performance, and versatility of its GPU ecosystem—a reminder that while rivals may be rising, Nvidia still sits atop the AI hardware hierarchy.

Behind the scenes, the company is also defending itself against questions raised by Big Short investor Michael Burry, who accused Nvidia of aggressive accounting. Management brushed off the criticism, citing “off the charts” demand for its new Blackwell chips. That demand appears real: CEO Jensen Huang told investors the combined appetite for Blackwell and the upcoming Rubin processors could reach a staggering $500 billion by the end of next year.

Nvidia may even tease an even faster, more efficient generation of its rack-and-server systems at its developer conference in March. But the loud confidence—combined with the need to make it so public—reveals a hint of nerves. Markets have recently grown wary of tech-company bravado.

Palantir’s Alex Karp called his Q3 results “arguably the best any software company has ever delivered.” Investors disagreed, knocking the stock down 20%. Elon Musk proclaimed Tesla had begun “a whole new book” of its future after winning a massive shareholder payout; the stock slipped almost 10% afterward. Even Michael Saylor—once the loudest Bitcoin evangelist—saw Strategy’s stock fall below the value of its Bitcoin holdings despite declaring the cryptocurrency would eclipse gold.

Nvidia is still the world’s most valuable company, still the face of the AI revolution, and still an economic engine—adding over $3 trillion in market value in just two years. Analysts expect it to generate roughly $93 billion in free cash flow this year, with the financial firepower to buy back $50 billion worth of stock if it chooses.

So no, Nvidia isn’t losing its throne anytime soon. But for the first time in years, the king may no longer rule alone. Competition—serious, well-funded, technically sophisticated competition—is finally knocking at the door.