Lions reign as king of the jungle (although “king of the savanna” would probable more more accurate). Elvis is still the king of rock and roll. Michael Jackson remains the king of pop. However, if the subject is chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) applications, I’d say Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the king.<\/p>\n
But the king’s perch on the throne just might be at least a little shaky as the new year approaches. Should Nvidia worry about Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) breathing down its neck in 2026?<\/p>\n
Image source: Nvidia. <\/p>\n
In November, AMD revealed a strategy to lead the $1 trillion AI and high-performance computing market. The company plans to deliver a revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR)<\/a> of greater than 35% over the next three to five years. AMD aims to achieve a revenue CAGR of more than 60% for its data center business.<\/p>\n Such ambitious plans are reminiscent of baseball legend Babe Ruth pointing to deep center field. You only make that kind of move unless you’re confident you can back it up. Ruth, of course, proceeded to hit a home run. Can AMD deliver on its growth strategy? It’s a definite maybe.<\/p>\n The company is already making progress toward its goal. For example, ChatGPT developer OpenAI will use AMD’s Instinct MI450 GPUs<\/a> in its next-generation AI infrastructure. The first deployment is scheduled for the second half of 2026. This deal also includes AMD issuing warrants for OpenAI to buy up to 160 million shares.<\/p>\n AI cloud powerhouse Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) is also using AMD’s GPUs and CPUs with its first publicly available AI supercluster. The initial deployment is set for the third quarter of 2026. Privately held Cohere is integrating AMD’s GPUs with its enterprise AI suite.<\/p>\n AMD also won two major contracts with the U.S. Department of Energy. The agency will use AMD’s GPUs and CPUs in its Lux and Discovery AI supercomputers.<\/p>\n GPUs aren’t the only game in town for powering AI systems, though. Alphabet’s Google Cloud unit is also making inroads with its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs).<\/p>\n Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) revealed last year that its Apple Intelligence generative AI functionality was trained using Google’s TPUs rather than Nvidia’s GPUs. Google, of course, also uses its TPUs with the widely acclaimed Google Gemini 3.0 large language model (LLM).<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n More AI leaders are also turning to TPUs. Anthropic is spending tens of billions of dollars to expand its AI compute capacity in 2026 using Google’s TPUs. The deal with Google is Anthropic’s largest purchase of TPUs so far.<\/p>\n Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is reportedly in talks to use Google’s TPUs in its data centers starting in 2027. In the past, Meta has been a major buyer of Nvidia’s GPUs.<\/p>\n Google could gain more traction in the AI chip market next year, thanks to its new Ironwood TPUs. Ironwood is four times more powerful than Google’s previous highest-performing TPU.<\/p>\n Both AMD and Google appear to be gaining momentum in the AI chip market. Should Nvidia worry? Yes and no.<\/p>\n It’s always smart for companies to constantly monitor the competition and not rest on their laurels. Nvidia’s management should recognize that its market dominance isn’t guaranteed to last forever.<\/p>\n However, I don’t think Nvidia’s top spot in the AI market is in jeopardy. The company doesn’t, either, as evidenced by a post on X last month:<\/p>\n In my view, the AI chip market is large enough to support multiple winners. Nvidia will almost certainly remain the king for at least several more years. But either AMD or Google could deserve the title of crown prince.<\/p>\n Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you\u2019ll want to hear this.<\/p>\n On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a \u201cDouble Down\u201d stock<\/a> recommendation\u00a0for companies that they think are about to pop. If you\u2019re worried you\u2019ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it\u2019s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:<\/p>\n Nvidia:\u00a0if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009,\u00a0you\u2019d have $457,248!*<\/p>\n Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you\u2019d have $52,147!*<\/p>\n Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you\u2019d have $505,695!*<\/p>\n Right now, we\u2019re issuing \u201cDouble Down\u201d alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join\u00a0Stock Advisor, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.<\/p>\n See the 3 stocks \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n *Stock Advisor returns as of December 15, 2025<\/p>\n Keith Speights<\/a> has positions in Alphabet, Apple, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Oracle. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n