🤑Nvidia's Record Quarter

PLUS: EU Backs Down On AI | Trump Targets Federal AI Takeover

November 20, 2025

Reading time: 5 minutes

🗞️In this edition

  • Nvidia dismisses AI bubble talk with record $57B quarter

  • Sponsored: Remio - your entire knowledge base chatable with AI

  • Europe caves to big tech on GDPR and AI

  • Trump planning AI litigation task force 

  • Workflow Wednesday #46:  AI & Personal Productivity

  • In other AI news –

    • Google tests AI to sift through research

    • Warner Music and Udio strike settlement and partnership

    • Adobe expands marketing AI with Semrush deal

    • 4 must-try AI tools

Hey there,

Nvidia just posted $57 billion in revenue with Blackwell sales "off the charts" while dismissing AI bubble concerns. Europe's backing down on GDPR and AI Act protections after years of tough regulation, admitting it has no competitive AI companies to protect. And Trump's preparing an executive order to override all state AI laws, threatening to sue California and withhold rural broadband funding from states that regulate AI companies.

We're committed to keeping this the sharpest AI newsletter in your inbox. No fluff, no hype. Just the moves that'll matter when you look back six months from now.

Let's get into it.

What's happening:

Nvidia reported revenue of $57B in Q3, 62% higher compared to the same quarter last year. Net income on GAAP basis was $32B, 65% higher year-over-year. Both beat Wall Street expectations.

The data center business generated a record $51.2B, up 25% from the previous quarter and up 66% from a year ago. Remaining $5.8B came from gaming business with $4.2B, followed by professional visualization and automotive.

CFO Colette Kress noted data center business has been fueled by acceleration of computing, powerful AI models, and agentic applications. During the Q3 call, Kress said the company announced AI factory and infrastructure projects amounting to an aggregate of 5 million GPUs.

"This demand spans every market, CSPs, sovereigns, modern builders enterprises and super computing centers, and includes multiple landmark buildouts," Kress said.

Blackwell Ultra, a GPU unveiled in March and available in several configurations, has been particularly strong and is  within the company. Previous Blackwell versions also saw continued strong demand.

CEO Jensen Huang said sales of Blackwell GPU chips "are off the charts."

"Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out," Huang said. "Compute demand keeps accelerating and compounding across training and inference, each growing exponentially."

Kress noted the company's shipments of H20, a data center GPU designed for generative AI, were disappointing due to inability to sell to China. "Sizable purchase orders never materialized in the quarter due to geopolitical issues and an increasingly competitive market in China."

Nvidia is forecasting $65B revenue in Q4, pushing share price up more than 4% in after-hours trading.

"There's been a lot of talk about an AI bubble," Huang said during the earnings call. "From our vantage point, we see something very different."

Why this is important:

Nvidia dismissing AI bubble concerns while posting 62% revenue growth and forecasting $65B Q4 is a direct response to market skepticism.

Data center revenue at $51.2B, up 66% year-over-year, shows enterprise AI spending isn't slowing despite concerns about ROI and sustainability.

5 million GPUs announced in Q3 alone represents massive scale. For context, that's more compute than existed globally just a few years ago.

Blackwell being "off the charts" and "cloud GPUs sold out" indicates supply still can't meet demand despite Nvidia's manufacturing ramp.

China H20 disappointment from "geopolitical issues" is export controls working as intended. US blocking advanced chip sales to China is costing Nvidia revenue but the company's growing despite it.

Our personal take on it at OpenTools:

Huang's right to dismiss bubble talk based on these numbers.

62% revenue growth, 65% net income growth, sold-out inventory, $65B Q4 forecast. That's not a bubble. That's sustained demand outpacing supply.

The 5 million GPU announcement in a single quarter is staggering. Every major AI lab, cloud provider, and enterprise is buying as fast as Nvidia can ship.

Blackwell's demand being "off the charts" validates Nvidia's architecture roadmap. They're not just selling chips. They're selling an entire AI infrastructure stack that customers can't replicate elsewhere.

Data center at $51.2B versus gaming at $4.2B shows how completely Nvidia's business has shifted. Gaming built the company. AI is 10x bigger now.

China H20 disappointment is notable. "Sizable purchase orders never materialized" means Nvidia lost billions from export controls. But they're growing 62% anyway. China revenue would be nice but isn't necessary.

The "competitive market in China" comment is Huawei and domestic Chinese chipmakers eating share Nvidia can't address. Export controls are accelerating Chinese semiconductor independence.

Forecasting $65B Q4 from $57B Q3 is 14% quarter-over-quarter growth. That's huge.

Huang saying "compute demand keeps accelerating and compounding across training and inference, each growing exponentially" is key. Both model training and inference deployment are scaling simultaneously. That's two growth drivers, not one.

The bubble question is whether this demand is sustainable or pulling forward future purchases. Nvidia's betting it's sustainable. So far, they're right.

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What's happening:

Europe is stripping protections from GDPR and relaxing AI Act rules after years of setting the standard for tough tech regulation. The European Commission proposed changes that make it easier for companies to share anonymized personal datasets and allow AI companies to legally use personal data for training models.

The proposal extends the grace period for high-risk AI system rules that were supposed to take effect next summer. 

They'll now only apply once "needed standards and support tools are available" to AI companies. That's an indefinite delay disguised as flexibility.

Cookie pop-ups are getting simplified. "Non-risk" cookies won't trigger pop-ups at all. Users can control others from central browser settings that apply broadly across websites.

The changes also simplify AI documentation for smaller companies, create unified cybersecurity incident reporting, and centralize AI oversight into the bloc's AI Office.

Civil rights groups and politicians are already furious. Leaked drafts provoked accusations that the Commission is bowing to Big Tech pressure and weakening fundamental safeguards.

Why this is important:

GDPR is a cornerstone of Europe's tech strategy and was considered untouchable. Weakening it signals Europe's losing confidence in its regulatory approach.

The changes follow months of pressure from Big Tech, Donald Trump, and figures like Mario Draghi urging the bloc to weaken regulation. Brussels is reframing this as "simplification," not weakening, but the substance tells a different story.

Europe has almost no credible competitors in the global AI race. The US and China dominate with companies like OpenAI, Google, and DeepSeek. Brussels fears tough regulation hampered its ability to compete.

Our personal take on it at OpenTools:

Europe just admitted its regulatory strategy failed.

After years of GDPR and AI Act setting global standards, Brussels is backing down under pressure. The "simplification" framing is spin. This is weakening protections because Europe has no AI champions and fears being left behind.

Extending high-risk AI rules "once standards are available" is indefinite delay. That language gives AI companies veto power over when regulations apply. If standards are never "available," rules never take effect.

Cookie pop-up changes are only unambiguously a good part. Everyone hates them. Centralizing controls in browsers makes sense.

But allowing AI companies to use personal data for training "so long as it complies with other GDPR requirements" is circular logic. The whole question is what those requirements should be for AI training. This punts the hard question.

Europe spent years positioning itself as protector of user rights against Big Tech. Now it's reversing course because it has no domestic AI industry to protect. That's admission that regulation without competitive companies leaves you with neither innovation nor leverage.

What's happening:

Trump is preparing an executive order that gives the federal government unilateral power over AI regulation, including an "AI Litigation Task Force" to sue states whose laws obstruct AI industry growth. The order could be signed as soon as Friday.

According to a draft, the task force will challenge state AI laws, specifically citing California's AI safety and catastrophic risk laws and Colorado's algorithmic discrimination protections. The task force will consult with White House advisers including David Sacks, Trump's special adviser for AI and crypto.

Within 90 days, the Commerce Department must publish a report identifying which states violate Trump's AI directives and research which states may lose eligibility for BEAD program funding, which pays for rural broadband access.

The FTC will issue a statement on whether states requiring AI companies to change algorithms violate laws prohibiting unfair practices. Trump framed the move as fighting the "woke" ideology, saying "you'll have one woke state and you'll have to do all woke."

The order is a backup plan if Congress fails to pass a state AI law moratorium through the National Defense Authorization Act. Congress attempted to include a moratorium in Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" earlier this year but failed after bipartisan opposition.

Why this is important:

The federal government claiming unilateral power to override state AI laws is massive expansion of executive authority. States have traditionally regulated consumer protection and safety within their borders.

Threatening to revoke rural broadband funding unless states drop AI regulations weaponizes infrastructure grants for political compliance. California might ignore BEAD threats, but smaller states can't afford to.

The task force being overseen by an attorney general with "sole responsibility to challenge state AI laws" means DOJ resources dedicated to suing states that regulate AI companies.

Our personal take on it at OpenTools:

This is federal preemption pitched as fighting "woke" AI.

Trump's real goal is preventing California from regulating AI companies. California's safety testing disclosure requirements and catastrophic risk laws are specific targets mentioned in the draft order.

Threatening BEAD funding is a blunt instrument. Rural broadband money shouldn't be weaponized to force states to drop consumer protection laws. That's coercive federalism, not regulatory clarity.

The "woke AI" framing is culture war language masking industry lobbying. AI companies don't want California requiring safety testing disclosures. Calling those rules "woke" makes opposition sound ideological instead of economic.

David Sacks advising the task force is a conflict of interest. He's a venture capitalist invested in AI companies. Having him consult on litigation against state regulations that affect his portfolio companies is problematic.

FCC claiming authority over AI regulation through Communications Act is a creative legal theory unlikely to survive court challenges. The Act regulates communications infrastructure, not AI model training or deployment.

Courts could block this immediately. States have police power to regulate for health, safety, and welfare. 

But litigation takes years. Even if Trump loses in court, the task force creates uncertainty and delays state regulation while cases proceed. That's the point. Tie up state laws in litigation while AI companies move fast.

This Week in Workflow Wednesday #46: AI & Personal Productivity

 This week, we’re showing you how to create pro-level content without losing a single minute to editing timelines or creative burnout.

Workflow #1: Produce a High-Converting Sales Video Without Touching a Timeline (Pictory.ai)
Step 1: Start with your script — or let AI write it for you. Keep it tight, under 90 seconds, and punchy.
Step 2: Drop it into Pictory’s Script-to-Video tool and let the …..We break down this workflow (and two more ways to optimize your daily routine with AI) in this week’s Workflow Wednesday.

  1. Viroll - An AI-powered video editing tool that helps users create highlight clips from their videos

  2. Chekable - An AI-powered platform that provides services for checking the patentability of inventions

  3. Tactic - Helps users automate research, analysis, and action by generating insights from any document

  4. Lyro - An AI Chatbot that automatically answers common questions and perform recurring tasks so your team can focus on growing your business

We're here to help you navigate AI without the hype.

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– The OpenTools Team

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