Nvidia surges on BYD, Nissan autonomous driving partnerships
Chipmaker lands major automaker deals at GTC 2026 as CEO forecasts $1 trillion AI demand through 2027
Nvidia shares climbed 1.7% to $183.22 in Tuesday trading after the chipmaker announced major automotive partnerships at its GTC 2026 conference, securing deals with Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD, automaker Geely, commercial vehicle manufacturer Isuzu, and Nissan for its self-driving technology.
The agreements mark a significant expansion of Nvidia's footprint in the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle market, with all four manufacturers adopting the company's DRIVE Hyperion platform for next-generation Level 4 autonomous driving initiatives. The partnerships put Nvidia in direct competition with Tesla in the race to commercialize fully autonomous vehicles.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia's chief executive, used the conference to dramatically increase the company's AI demand forecast, projecting approximately $1 trillion in purchase orders for its Blackwell and upcoming Vera Rubin systems through 2027. The updated outlook doubles Nvidia's previous forecast of a $500 billion opportunity, reflecting what Huang described as a transition from experimental AI phases to widespread real-world deployment.
"Everything that moves will eventually be autonomous," Huang told attendees at the San Jose conference, highlighting the company's vision for ubiquitous robotics and autonomous systems.
The partnerships span different vehicle segments and markets. Isuzu, collaborating with TIER IV, will deploy Level 4 autonomous buses using Nvidia's DRIVE AGX Thor system-on-a-chip, part of the DRIVE Hyperion architecture. Nissan's Level 4 autonomous vehicle program will incorporate software from British AI company Wayve running on the Hyperion platform.
For BYD and Geely, the agreements represent a strategic shift as China's leading electric vehicle manufacturers seek to advance their autonomous driving capabilities beyond Tesla's Full Self-Driving system. The Chinese market has become increasingly competitive in the autonomous vehicle space, with domestic technology companies and automakers racing to develop Level 4 systems.
Beyond the automaker partnerships, Nvidia also announced an expanded collaboration with Uber to launch a fleet of Nvidia-powered robotaxis across 28 cities on four continents by 2028, with the rollout commencing in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of 2027.
Analysts responded positively to the announcements and the revised demand outlook. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management noted that the $1 trillion forecast implicitly raises Nvidia's 2027 revenue expectations above Wall Street's current projections of roughly $468 billion. Jim Cramer highlighted the rapid acceleration of demand, while Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities reinforced Nvidia's leadership position, stating the company remains "at the top of the AI demand curve for 2026 & beyond" and that the AI revolution is "accelerating, not decelerating."
Goldman Sachs reiterated a "Buy" rating on the stock following the announcements. The consensus among Wall Street analysts remains overwhelmingly bullish, with 61 analysts rating Nvidia a "Strong Buy" or "Buy" and only two recommending "Hold." The average price target stands at $267.54, implying approximately 46% upside from current levels.
Nvidia's automotive business, while still smaller than its data center and gaming divisions, represents a critical growth avenue as the company seeks to diversify beyond its core artificial intelligence infrastructure market. The company's automotive revenue reached $536 million in the most recent quarter, up 15% year-over-year, though still accounting for less than 3% of total revenue.
The stock's performance reflects growing investor confidence in Nvidia's ability to maintain its dominance in the AI chip market despite increasing competition from Intel, AMD, and custom chips developed by major cloud providers. Nvidia's market capitalization stands at $4.38 trillion, making it one of the world's most valuable companies.
Looking ahead, analysts will be watching execution on the new automotive partnerships, particularly the timeline for commercial deployments of Level 4 autonomous systems. The success of these programs could significantly accelerate Nvidia's automotive revenue growth and validate the company's strategy of providing end-to-end autonomous driving platforms rather than individual components.
Huang's $1 trillion demand forecast through 2027 suggests Nvidia expects sustained growth momentum beyond the current generative AI boom. The company's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22.5 times represents a premium to the broader semiconductor sector but reflects confidence in continued growth as enterprises move from AI experimentation to large-scale deployment.