📈#066: Nvidia's $500B bet will change everything you buy

Welcome to Market Mosaic, where we are exploring in this week's edition the shifts shaping global markets: from Nvidia's $500 billion commitment to U.S.-based AI manufacturing, to gaming's expansion across 71% of American consumers.

The interwoven developments we share today signal a strategic realignment that every business leader must understand.

In case you also missed it, we recently released a fresh look for our newsletter. Plus, anticipate, view and register for our inaugural LinkedIn Live conversation here.

— Insights Team, Rwazi

In our edition this week:

• Sector Performance Tracker

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain
  

In a significant shift, Nvidia has announced plans to manufacture AI supercomputers entirely within the United States, with production facilities in Arizona and Texas. This move is now a new chapter in the global AI race, with ambitious plans to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure over the next four years.

This domestic manufacturing push comes against a backdrop of intense global competition in data centre development. The U.S. currently dominates with 3,648 data centres, followed distantly by Germany (419) and the United Kingdom (412). Despite ranking 12th globally with 170 data centres, Brazil's position is quite noteworthy due to its abundant renewable energy resources—São Paulo alone hosts 58 facilities, comparable to entire nations like South Korea (65) and Israel (55).

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is now emerging as an unexpected leader in electric vehicle adoption in the Middle East, as it challenges assumptions about the pace of energy transitions in petroleum-producing nations.

Our data analysis shows a dramatic growth in the UAE's EV market, with electric vehicles comprising 13% of total car sales in 2023 — a remarkable leap from 3.2% in 2022 and just 0.7% in 2021. With over 147,000 electric and hybrid vehicles currently on UAE roads and new EV registrations rising by more than 25% year-on-year, the nation appears well on track to meet or exceed its target of 50% EV adoption by 2050.

Despite fuel prices approximately 20% lower than U.S. averages, UAE consumers are increasingly attracted to EVs' lower operational costs, with EV owners spending roughly 25% of what traditional car owners do on fuel, alongside reduced maintenance expenses.

Our data analysis has shown that gaming has firmly established itself as a mainstream activity in the United States, with approximately 71% of consumers having played some form of video game in the past month.

Mobile platforms continue to dominate the gaming industry, with 65% of U.S. consumers engaging with mobile games in 2024. This widespread adoption crosses all demographic groups, with our supplementary data showing particular growth among adults aged 45-65, where engagement has increased 22% in the past two years.

Traditional gaming platforms maintain strong positions, with 36% of consumers playing PC games and 35% engaging with console gaming. These platforms continue to attract the most dedicated gamers, with average session lengths of 2.6 hours for console players compared to 42 minutes for mobile gamers.

After decades of declining prominence, industrial policy has made a comeback on the global stage. Our analysis of institutional data shows more than 2,500 industrial policy interventions worldwide last year, with over two-thirds being trade-distorting measures that likely discriminated against foreign commercial interests.

This resurgence of government intervention in markets has been catalysed by a confluence of factors: the pandemic exposed supply chain vulnerabilities, geopolitical tensions heightened concerns about economic security, and the climate crisis underscored the need for coordinated action beyond market mechanisms.

Our data breakdown of distortionary measures by motive reveals:

• Competitiveness: 37%

• Climate: 29%

• GVC Resilience: 14%

• Geopolitical Concerns: 13%

• National Security: 7%

 
Thank you for reading and joining us on Market Mosaic this week. We hope this edition provides valuable, actionable insights for decisions with data. 📊

Join us this THURSDAY, May 15th, for a LinkedIn Live conversation on trade disruption strategies for global businesses.

Discover actionable strategies to mitigate risks from trade disruptions, maintain market presence amid shifting trade policies and identify new opportunities in reconfigured global trade networks.

Sharp Insight. Bold Conversations. Real Impact.

Ready to explore a new challenge and take the next step in your career?

Each week, we share open roles at Rwazi for business professionals like you looking to make an impact in the AI market intelligence with us. Here’s what’s open this week:

Here are the insightful visuals we shared on LinkedIn — feel free to check them out, comment or repost if it hits home for you.