NVIDIA's CEO has suggested that Marvell Technology could be the next semiconductor firm to achieve a trillion-dollar market valuation. He anticipates that the emergence of autonomous models will trigger a massive increase in demand for artificial intelligence hardware.

The CEO shared a stage with Marvell's chief executive at an industry event in Taipei, discussing the future of AI infrastructure and highlighting a strategic industry shift from copper cables to optical communication technologies.

The executive stated that practical, useful AI is now a reality. He attributed the soaring demand for products from both Marvell and NVIDIA to the rise of autonomous AI agents capable of managing workflows and solving complex problems.

The high-profile joint appearance by the two leaders at the Computex trade show in Taiwan underscored the critical role that next-generation networking technology will play in the AI era.

Marvell, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, specializes in providing data infrastructure semiconductors and high-speed networking solutions for data centers. The company's CEO noted in his keynote address that the next major wave of AI innovation will be primarily driven by advancements in interconnect technology.

He emphasized that focusing solely on processors or memory provides an incomplete picture of overall hardware efficiency.

Discussing the technical challenges of scaling up massive AI data centers, the NVIDIA leader explained that computing is becoming increasingly disaggregated and distributed. To connect these vast systems, the entire industry will rely heavily on sophisticated interconnect solutions.

This is precisely why Marvell's role is so crucial, the NVIDIA CEO remarked, adding that this strategic importance positions the company to become the next enterprise valued at one trillion dollars.

NVIDIA announced a strategic partnership with Marvell in March, confirming an investment of $2 billion into the company.

Marvell's stock closed 7% higher on Monday and then surged more than 15% in extended trading on the Blue Ocean alternative system.

Addressing the industry's transition from copper wires to silicon photonics for data transmission, the NVIDIA CEO advocated for a pragmatic and cost-effective approach. This involves maximizing the lifespan of existing copper infrastructure within AI systems while deploying more expensive optical links only where they are technically indispensable.

As AI workloads grow more complex, copper cables are approaching their physical limits, a trend that is gradually pushing the industry toward greater adoption of photonic technologies.

The guiding principle should be to use fiber optics where they are necessary and to continue using copper where it remains sufficient, the executive concluded.