Nvidia’s Jetson Thor delivers 7.5x AI boost for robotics at $3.5K

Nvidia has launched its Jetson AGX Thor developer kit and production modules, a next-generation robotics platform powered by Blackwell GPUs designed to enable millions of robots, including humanoids, with advanced AI capabilities. The platform delivers record-breaking performance and efficiency, reinforcing Nvidia’s position in AI infrastructure as analysts project stronger earnings driven by its GB200 and Blackwell product ramps ahead of the company’s August 27 earnings report.

Key performance specs: The Blackwell GPU-powered platform delivers up to 2,070 FP4 teraflops of AI compute with 128GB of memory in a 130-watt power envelope.

• This represents 7.5 times the AI compute and 3.5 times better energy efficiency compared to its predecessor, Jetson Orin.
• The system is designed to run multiple generative AI models at the edge, enabling robots and humanoids to interact intelligently, operate autonomously, and handle complex real-world environments in real time.

Who’s adopting it: Major industry leaders have already embraced the Jetson Thor platform, with several others evaluating its capabilities.

• Early adopters include Amazon Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, Meta Platforms, and Caterpillar.
• Companies currently evaluating the system include OpenAI and John Deere.
• The platform is available now starting at $3,499 and integrates with Nvidia’s robotics software stack, including Isaac simulation tools and GR00T humanoid foundation models.

Analyst outlook: JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur maintains a bullish perspective on Nvidia ahead of its upcoming earnings report, projecting strong revenue growth driven by Blackwell product scaling.

• He projects July-quarter revenue of $46–$47 billion, slightly above consensus, largely driven by GB200 rack shipment ramp-up.
• October-quarter revenue guidance is expected at $53–$54 billion+, also above Wall Street estimates, as Nvidia scales GB200 volumes to 8,000–9,000 racks.
• Full-year Blackwell shipments are projected to reach 28,000–30,000 racks.

China factor: Sur noted that Nvidia will likely exclude China H20 revenue from its outlook due to regulatory uncertainty, but significant revenue potential remains.

• The company’s $1.9 billion H20 inventory could generate $5–$6 billion in revenue.
• Additional upside potential of $3–$4 billion per quarter is possible over the next few quarters.
• Despite geopolitical headwinds, Sur emphasized that Nvidia’s AI infrastructure exposure, powered by Blackwell GPUs, positions it firmly in the market.

Financial projections: Gross margins are expected to improve significantly as supply chain efficiencies take hold.

• Sur projects gross margins to rise to 73% in the fourth quarter and move toward the mid-70% range by year-end.
• NVDA stock traded higher by 1.93% to $181.39 following the Jetson Thor announcement.