Nvidia or AMD: Billionaire Ken Griffin Bets Big on One Top AI Chip Stock

AI has been the dominant trend on Wall Street over the past couple of years, with stocks associated with the theme driving the 2023–2024 bull market on the premise that the technology will disrupt a wide array of industries.

But finance? That might be a different story. Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin isn’t exactly sold on AI revolutionizing his world.

“Do we use it in our investment business? A little bit, a little bit. I can’t say it’s been game-changing,” Griffin recently said. “It saves some time. It’s a productivity enhancement tool. It’s nice, I don’t think it’s going to revolutionize most of what we do in finance.”

Griffin is probably better qualified than most to speak on the matter. With a net worth of $44.1 billion and spearheading a firm that is considered the most profitable hedge fund in history, he would know.

But that’s not to say Griffin thinks AI is just another fad, as he also believes AI will “change the world around you in a lot of profound ways.” And that naturally brings with it plenty of investing opportunities.

With this in mind, Griffin has been reshuffling his AI portfolio in recent times. That portfolio includes AI chip giants such as Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), and Griffin appears to be leaning heavily in favor of one over the other right now.

So, let’s find out which AI chip stock is tickling his fancy. And with some help from the TipRanks database, we can see what the Wall Street analysts make of his choices.

Nvidia

It’s probably not even worth talking about AI if you’re not going to give Nvidia a mention. The company has become synonymous with the trend and for good reason. AI has helped catapult the company from merely a semiconductor heavyweight to one of the world’s biggest firms with the chipmaker even at times knocking Apple and Microsoft off the top of the market cap pile.

Once primarily a maker of GPUs targeting the gaming industry, what once was its main breadwinner has now become a footnote to its all-conquering Data Center business – the segment to which its AI chips belong. To understand Nvidia’s standing in the AI chip world, consider this: it dominates the industry to such an extent that it commands at least an 80% share of the market. It has achieved that feat due to the simple fact it makes the best AI chips out there.  

That edge has translated into some monster growth over the past few years. In its most recent quarterly readout for fiscal Q4 (January quarter), revenue climbed 78% year-over-year to $39.33 billion, beating the consensus estimate by $1.17 billion. That included a record-breaking $35.6 billion from its Data Center segment, up 93% from the same period last year. At the bottom line, adjusted EPS came in at $0.89, topping the Street’s forecast by $0.04. Looking ahead, Nvidia expects F1Q revenue (April quarter) to reach $43 billion, plus or minus 2%, ahead of the $42.05 billion consensus. Nvidia will report F1Q (April quarter) earnings on May 28.

If that all sounds like a recipe for ongoing success, that’s not necessarily the way Griffin currently sees it. The billionaire slashed his NVDA position by 50% during Q1, selling 1,555,264 shares.

For those wondering why he would do so with the company still generating impressive growth, Seaport’s Jay Goldberg’s take might explain it. The analyst appears to share Griffin’s cautious stance and points to a growing list of concerns, including: “(1) Our research indicates significant complexity required for deployments of Nvidia systems in comparison to traditional data centers – cooling, configuration and orchestration challenges throughout the supply chain. (2) Mounting questions as to utility of AI. ‘Growing pains’ for AI as customers search for use cases and ways to generate returns from significant AI investments to date. (3) Nvidia’s largest customers are all looking to design their own chips. (4) Likely to see slowing of AI budgets in 2026. AI is probably not a ‘Bubble,’ but it may take many years before true utility becomes apparent.”

“Nvidia is one of the leading beneficiaries of the current AI spending boom, but its prospects are well understood and largely priced into the stock,” Goldberg further said, before rating the stock a Sell, with a $100 price target that points toward a downside of 26% over the next year. (To watch Goldberg’s track record, click here)

That said, Goldberg is currently the Street’s lone NVDA bear and with an additional 34 Buys, 5 Holds and 1 Sell, the analyst consensus rates the stock a Strong Buy. Going by the $164.51 average target, 12 months from now, the shares are expected to show growth of 21.5%. (See NVDA stock forecast)

AMD

It’s quite fitting to move from Nvidia to AMD, given how closely the two are linked in more ways than one. For starters, there’s even a family connection here. AMD CEO Lisa Su and Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang are actually distant cousins. It’s easy to imagine a family gathering where Huang can’t resist teasing Su about AMD’s struggles to chip away at Nvidia’s dominance in the AI space.

That playful jab would have some truth to it. Not long ago, AMD was considered the prime candidate to siphon away share from Nvidia, just like it has done to rival Intel in the CPU market. But that hasn’t materialized so far with Nvidia still remaining the AI chipmaker of choice to most in the industry.

To be fair, though, AMD is no slouch, either. It has also made a habit of delivering strong quarterly readouts. The growth might not be as impressive as the one that has taken place at Nvidia, but is robust, nonetheless.

In 1Q25, the company generated revenue of $7.44 billion, for a 36% year-over-year increase while trumping analyst expectations by $320 million. Data Center revenue increased by 57% from the same period a year ago to $3.7 billion. At the other end of the spectrum, adj. EPS of $0.96 came in $0.03 ahead of the forecast. Looking forward to Q2, AMD called for revenue of $7.4 billion, plus or minus $300 million vs. the Street’s forecast of $7.24 billion.

Griffin, for his part, must have liked all of that. He bet big on AMD during the first quarter quarter, increasing his stake by 313%, with the purchase of 2,786,115 shares. These are currently worth about $326 million.

As noted above, AMD has continually eaten away at Intel’s dominance in the CPU space, and while its efforts to haul in Nvidia haven’t borne fruit yet, given the company’s pipeline, it might not be mission impossible to do so eventually. That’s certainly the take of UBS’s Timothy Arcuri, an analyst ranked in the 6th spot amongst the thousands of Wall Street stock experts.

“The story in our eyes still hinges on the new family of AI solutions coming next year, but customer traction among US hyperscalers is gaining momentum, and AMD may be able to draft off of NVDA’s ‘growing pains’ in ramping these new system solutions this year, and we remain constructive on the overall data center capex and AI backdrop into 2026. With the noise from this ban (on selling AI chips to China) now out of the way and some forthcoming clarity on tariffs, the bias for the stock seems to be to the upside – especially into its AI Event in mid-June where it will likely provide more detail on these new solutions (MI400) ramping next year,” the 5-star analyst opined.

Bottom line, Arcuri rates AMD shares a Buy while his $150 price target factors in one-year returns of 28%. (To watch Arcuri’s track record, click here)

Amongst his colleagues, 21 other analysts join Arcuri in the bull camp and with an additional 9 Holds, AMD claims a Moderate Buy consensus rating. At $126.55, the average price target implies the stock will climb 8% higher in the months ahead. (See AMD stock forecast)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.