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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Nvidia said on August 28, 2024, that it had fixed a production-yield issue affecting its Blackwell AI GPU and still expected production to ramp in the fourth quarter of 2024. CEO Jensen Huang said the company changed the GPU mask to improve yields, but did not disclose the underlying defect or a specific physical failure mechanism.
What was wrong with Nvidia’s Blackwell chip?
Nvidia disclosed a manufacturing-yield problem: production was not yielding chips at the level the company wanted. Huang said Nvidia had changed the Blackwell GPU mask to improve production yields. A mask is part of the chipmaking process used to define a chip’s design on silicon; Nvidia did not explain what aspect of the mask or production process had caused the yield concern.
The company also said the fix required no functional changes. That indicates Nvidia described the adjustment as a manufacturing improvement, not a redesign of what the GPU does. The exact defect and technical repair were not made public, so explanations naming a specific physical fault go beyond what Nvidia disclosed. Network World reported Huang’s comments on August 29, 2024.
Did Nvidia delay Blackwell?
Nvidia’s late-August update said its production ramp remained scheduled to begin in Q4 2024, despite the yield issue. Huang said sampling was already underway and that the mask change was complete. The update therefore described a production problem that Nvidia said it had addressed, rather than announcing a new delay to the Q4 ramp.
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The timing mattered because Blackwell was expected to contribute materially to Nvidia’s business. In its fiscal Q2 2025 results, reported August 28, 2024, Nvidia recorded $30.0 billion in quarterly revenue, including $26.3 billion from Data Center; those figures were up 122% and 154% year over year, respectively. They provide business context for the launch, but do not establish how much revenue came from Blackwell at that point. Nvidia’s fiscal Q2 2025 results.
When did Blackwell production start?
Huang’s August statement set the planned production ramp for Q4 2024 and said it would continue into fiscal 2026. Nvidia also expected several billion dollars in Blackwell revenue in Q4 and said shipments would begin generating billions of dollars toward the end of 2024. Those were company expectations announced at the time, not a guarantee of realized revenue or shipment volume.
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In its fiscal Q3 2025 results, reported November 20, 2024, Nvidia described Blackwell as being in full production. This subsequent update supports that the ramp progressed; it does not, by itself, establish exact shipment dates or volumes. Nvidia reported $35.1 billion in total quarterly revenue in that release. Nvidia’s fiscal Q3 2025 results.
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What Nvidia disclosed—and what remains unknown
- Disclosed: Nvidia changed the Blackwell GPU mask to improve production yields, said the change was complete, and said no functional changes were necessary.
- Not disclosed: The specific defect, its physical cause, the exact manufacturing step affected, or detailed yield figures before and after the change.
- Product context: The reporting concerns Nvidia’s enterprise-focused Blackwell AI GPU platform, not a consumer gaming graphics card.
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