AI Buys Pallets of GPUs, Nvidia's Rules Ignored

AI companies are reportedly acquiring Nvidia's flagship consumer GPU, the RTX 5090, in bulk, leading to its near-complete disappearance from retail shelves. Images circulating suggest wooden pallets stacked with these GPUs are being sent to AI server assembly sites. This massive demand has driven the price of an RTX 5090 from its $1,999 launch price in January 2025 to over $6,000 as of September 14, 2026, with some listings exceeding $9,000.

This surge in demand for the RTX 5090 by AI firms is notable because Nvidia's GeForce driver license has included a "No Datacenter Deployment" clause since late 2017, theoretically prohibiting such use. Despite this, data center operators are entering the market to secure compute resources. The high demand is also influenced by the exorbitant cost of professional workstation GPUs, such as the RTX PRO 6000, which has nearly doubled in price to $16,000.

While some question the authenticity of the circulated images, suggesting AI involvement in their creation, the underlying trend of increased GPU prices for AI applications is evident. Nvidia has previously implemented measures, like LHR on its RTX 3000 series, to manage supply during high demand periods. The current situation highlights the ongoing tension between consumer-grade hardware being repurposed for industrial AI workloads and Nvidia's control over its product deployment.