When people tell you that AI is hyped, drop this with them: “Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced on Tuesday that the artificial intelligence powerhouse will construct seven new supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy, marking the company’s expanding influence in global AI infrastructure. The announcement, made during Nvidia’s annual GTC conference in Washington, D.C., and was first reported by Reuters, came alongside revelations that the company now holds a staggering $500 billion in AI chip bookings — a record that cements its dominance at the heart of the global AI revolution.”

Yes, $500B in AI chip bookings. Good People, across all indicators, the conversation should be “How do I get into AI” and not checking if AI is real or not. AI is not metaverse. AI has a physical layer (datacenters, power plants, etc) which will remain, and that layer will power the next phase of economic expansion.

And investors believe: “Nvidia on Wednesday became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market capitalization during intraday trading, a milestone fueled by a flurry of new partnership announcements that bolstered the chipmaker’s dominance in the artificial intelligence boom. The stock jumped as much as 5.6% to $212.19 in early trading, topping the $205.76 level required for a $5 trillion valuation. Nvidia crossed the $4 trillion mark just four months ago, and its valuation now exceeds the combined worth of several major chipmakers and entire sectors of the S&P 500.” – LinkedIn News

There are three ways to play in the AI era: build, use and/or invest.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced on Tuesday that the artificial intelligence powerhouse will construct seven new supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy, marking the company’s expanding influence in global AI infrastructure.

The announcement, made during Nvidia’s annual GTC conference in Washington, D.C., and was first reported by Reuters, came alongside revelations that the company now holds a staggering $500 billion in AI chip bookings — a record that cements its dominance at the heart of the global AI revolution.

The supercomputers will not only support research into alternative energy sources such as nuclear fusion but will also help the United States maintain and advance its nuclear weapons arsenal. The largest of these systems will be built in partnership with Oracle and powered by 100,000 of Nvidia’s new Blackwell chips, part of a new generation of processors designed for large-scale AI workloads.

“Putting the weight of the nation behind pro-energy growth completely changed the game,” Huang said during his keynote, commending President Donald Trump’s energy and manufacturing policies. “If this didn’t happen, we could have been in a bad situation, and I want to thank President Trump for that.”

Expanding Partnerships Across Sectors

The company also unveiled a series of strategic partnerships that signal its intent to move deeper into diverse industries beyond data centers. Among these is a $1 billion investment for a 2.9% stake in Finnish telecom giant Nokia, as part of a new collaboration targeting the AI-driven communications market. Nvidia introduced its “Arc” product line, designed to enhance 6G network equipment, and said it will work with Nokia to improve the power efficiency of millions of base stations worldwide.

“We’re going to take this new technology and be able to upgrade millions of base stations around the world,” Huang said.

Nvidia also announced a new alliance with Palantir Technologies, focusing on the company’s commercial arm. The collaboration will apply Nvidia’s computing power to speed up logistics and supply chain solutions for clients such as U.S. retailer Lowe’s. Analysts noted that this represents a direct challenge to Intel, which has long dominated corporate computing contracts.

Another highlight was the unveiling of “Hyperion,” Nvidia’s latest self-driving car technology platform. Huang revealed that Nvidia will partner with Uber to build a network of robotaxis, marking the company’s most ambitious move yet into autonomous mobility.

“This is going to be a new computing platform for us, and I’m expecting it to be quite successful,” he said.

$500 Billion in Bookings, U.S. Production in Focus

Huang said Nvidia has secured $500 billion in orders for its Blackwell and Rubin AI chips over the next five quarters, a sign of sustained demand from cloud service providers, corporations, and government agencies. Nvidia’s latest expansion also includes a renewed push for domestic manufacturing. The company is producing chips at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) facilities in Arizona, while assembling servers in Texas and networking hardware in California.

“We are manufacturing in America again—it is incredible,” Huang said, recalling that President Trump personally urged him to “bring manufacturing back.”

The decision aligns with the U.S. government’s broader goal to restore domestic semiconductor production capacity and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers amid an ongoing technology rivalry with China.

Trade War Undercurrents

The announcements came as President Trump continued his diplomatic tour of Asia ahead of a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where the flow of advanced technology between the two countries is expected to dominate discussions. Huang’s keynote notably included praise for Trump’s flexible approach to chip export policy — a departure from former President Joe Biden’s stricter stance, which had previously barred Nvidia from selling its most advanced AI chips to China.

Trump initially maintained some of those restrictions in his second term before easing them in July, allowing Nvidia to regain limited access to the Chinese market. Huang has publicly argued that access to China, which represents an estimated $50 billion in potential sales, is vital for funding the company’s U.S.-based research and development.

Despite Beijing’s pressure on Chinese companies to buy domestic chips from Huawei, industry reports indicate that many developers in China continue to seek Nvidia’s GPUs due to their superior performance in AI training.

Government AI Race Intensifies

Nvidia’s new partnerships and government contracts highlight the intensifying competition in AI infrastructure. On Monday, rival chipmaker AMD announced a $1 billion deal with the Department of Energy to build two supercomputers for research in nuclear power, cancer treatments, and national security. Nvidia’s projects, however, are seen as broader in scope, encompassing defense, clean energy, and advanced quantum computing integration.

Huang also revealed that Nvidia’s new networking technologies would enable its AI chips to work alongside quantum computers, expanding the company’s reach into emerging scientific research.

Following the announcements, Nvidia shares rose 3.3% to $197.82 on Tuesday afternoon. Analysts said the developments underscore Nvidia’s growing centrality to both commercial and government AI efforts.

Airtel Africa Plc has reported a remarkable surge in profitability for the half year ended September 30, 2025, driven by strong data and mobile money performance, along with favorable currency movements across its 14 operating markets.

The group’s financials showed one of its strongest half-year results in recent years, highlighting a decisive shift in its business model from traditional voice services to digital and financial technology platforms.

The company said revenue rose to $2.98 billion, representing a 25.8% increase compared with the same period last year, while operating profit jumped 35.9% to $959 million. Profit before tax soared 269% to $656 million, while profit after tax climbed 375% to $376 million. Earnings per share stood at 8.3 cents, up from 0.8 cents a year earlier. Airtel also declared an interim dividend of 2.84 cents per share, up 9.2%, reflecting confidence in its financial position.

According to the telecom group, the sharp improvement in profitability reflects higher operating income, naira appreciation, and a stronger CFA franc, and reduced finance costs following last year’s heavy foreign exchange losses. Operating cash flow also rose 46.5% to $1.13 billion, while net debt improved to $5.5 billion, bringing leverage down to 2.1 times from 2.3 times a year earlier.

Data Now Airtel’s Biggest Revenue Driver

For the first time in its history, Airtel Africa’s data business overtook voice as the company’s largest revenue contributor, generating $1.16 billion in the half-year, up 37% in constant currency. Data users grew 18.4% to 78.1 million, while smartphone penetration reached 46.8%. Average monthly data usage per customer increased to 8.2GB, underlining rising demand for digital connectivity and entertainment across Africa.

Voice revenue grew 13.2% in constant currency, buoyed by an 11% rise in total subscribers to 173.8 million. Average revenue per user (ARPU) climbed 14.8% to $2.9, driven by pricing adjustments and increased user engagement.

Airtel Money Powers Fintech Expansion

Airtel’s mobile money arm, Airtel Money, continued its strong momentum, with revenue up 30.2% in constant currency to $623 million. The customer base expanded by 20% to 49.8 million, and total processed value (TPV) reached an annualized $193 billion, marking a 35.9% rise. The fintech segment now contributes 21% of total group revenue, underscoring Airtel’s growing diversification beyond its core telecoms business.

The company also reiterated that the planned initial public offering (IPO) of Airtel Money remains on track for the first half of 2026, a move expected to unlock additional shareholder value and attract strategic partners for its fintech operations.

Regional Performance

Nigeria, Airtel’s largest market, posted exceptional growth, with revenue climbing 49% in constant currency to $697 million. Data revenue grew 62%, while EBITDA margin improved to 56%, indicating better pricing and operational efficiency.

In East Africa, revenue rose 15.6% to $1.05 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 48%, while Francophone Africa recorded a 14.5% revenue increase to $749 million, with an EBITDA margin of 39.5%. The group attributed these gains to currency appreciation across East and Francophone Africa, as well as pricing adjustments and network expansion in Nigeria.

Cost Discipline and Balance Sheet Strength

Finance costs fell to $304 million, compared with $528 million a year ago, following the absence of exceptional FX losses. Airtel said 95% of its operating company debt is now denominated in local currency, significantly reducing exposure to foreign exchange volatility. Lease-adjusted leverage improved to 0.8 times, compared with 1.0 times a year earlier.

The EBITDA margin expanded by 268 basis points to 48.5%, supported by cost efficiency initiatives and a strong revenue mix from high-margin services such as data and mobile money.

Network Expansion and Capital Investment

Airtel Africa continued its aggressive infrastructure rollout, adding more than 2,350 new sites in the period, bringing its total to 38,300. It now covers 98.5% of its markets with 4G and has begun expanding 5G services in five countries. Fiber infrastructure also grew by 4,000 kilometers to exceed 81,000 kilometers across the continent.

To support this continued expansion, Airtel raised its capital expenditure guidance for FY2026 to between $875 million and $900 million, up from earlier projections, as it deepens investments in data centers and digital infrastructure to sustain long-term growth.

In a statement, the telco’s CEO, Sunil Taldar, said: “Our strategy has been focused on providing a superior customer experience and the strength of these results is testament to the initiatives we have been implementing across the business. The strength of our revenue performance—up 24.5% in constant currency—and further cost efficiency initiatives have continued to support a further increase in EBITDA margins to 49% in Q2 2026.”

Taldar added that the strong results give Airtel the confidence to raise its capital spending guidance as it accelerates investments across its markets to capture new opportunities in data, fintech, and digital services.

Outlook

Airtel Africa’s strong half-year performance underscores its successful transition into a more diversified digital services provider. With data and fintech now anchoring growth, the company is believed to be well-positioned to sustain earnings momentum into FY2026. However, management cautioned that macroeconomic and foreign exchange pressures in certain markets could still weigh on future earnings.

For now, the company’s blend of digital expansion, operational discipline, and capital efficiency appears to be paying off, making Airtel Africa one of the continent’s most profitable telecom groups.