Several emerging cloud service providers specializing in artificial intelligence infrastructure have reportedly been barred from attending Nvidia’s upcoming GTC conference in Berlin due to their use of competitor hardware. According to industry reports, multiple specialized infrastructure firms—often referred to as Neoclouds—lost their invitation eligibility after incorporating AMD graphics processing units, Google Tensor Processing Units, and other non-Nvidia chips into their product offerings.
Neocloud companies have expanded rapidly in recent years, establishing themselves as an alternative to major cloud computing platforms by offering infrastructure specifically optimized for AI training and inference. However, because many of these newer firms remain heavily dependent on Nvidia for hardware supplies, they occupy a vulnerable position in the market. Sources indicate that some cloud service providers have resorted to quietly deploying AMD products while avoiding public announcements of the partnerships in order to prevent potential commercial retaliation.
Industry tracking indicates that this is not the first time such allegations have surfaced. Earlier this year, reports claimed that Nvidia utilized hardware allocation restrictions to penalize cloud providers that adopted competitor technologies. Additional concerns have been raised regarding potential disadvantages in initial public offerings, financing rounds, and corporate funding initiatives for firms that do not exclusively align with Nvidia’s ecosystem.
These restrictions, however, do not appear to affect major hyperscale cloud providers. Due to their immense procurement scale and purchasing leverage, hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure have reportedly not faced similar actions from Nvidia.
At the same time, industry perspectives on the matter vary. Some observers note that as the private organizer of the GTC conference, Nvidia maintains the discretion to determine event attendees. Furthermore, because Nvidia has historically invested in select Neocloud enterprises, some analysts view these measures through the lens of commercial relationship management rather than anticompetitive enforcement.
Established in 2009, the GTC conference has grown into one of the global technology sector’s most prominent artificial intelligence events, drawing developers, researchers, and enterprise leaders annually. For emerging cloud providers, participation offers crucial opportunities for industry exposure, networking, and resource access.
Nvidia has frequently faced scrutiny over its dominant market position as alternative accelerators, including the AMD Instinct series and custom silicon like Google’s TPUs, work to expand their market presence. As the artificial intelligence hardware landscape evolves, debates surrounding ecosystem influence and market competitiveness are expected to continue.
