Nvidia (Nvidia (NVDA)) has become practically synonymous with the artificial intelligence boom, but veteran tech analyst Dan Ives thinks investors still don't fully grasp just how dominant the chipmaker really is.

Speaking on The Real Eisman Playbook, Ives laid out a simple but powerful thesis: Nvidia sits at the center of an AI ecosystem that's lifting nearly every corner of the tech sector—from memory and networking to cloud infrastructure and power. And the ripple effects are enormous.

It's Nvidia's World

"It's really like their world, everyone else paying rent," Ives said, describing Nvidia as the foundation of today's AI infrastructure buildout. He's not just talking about GPUs. He's talking about the entire spending cycle that starts when a company buys an Nvidia chip.

According to Ives, every dollar spent on an Nvidia AI chip generates another $8 to $10 of spending across CPUs, memory, networking equipment, telecommunications infrastructure, hyperscale cloud providers, data center construction, cooling systems, and energy. That multiplier effect explains why companies throughout the AI infrastructure stack have continued to benefit, even as investors debate whether spending on large language models is sustainable.

Don't Watch Nvidia in Isolation

For Ives, the biggest mistake investors can make is viewing Nvidia in isolation. The AI buildout is creating demand across dozens of industries that enable computing at scale. Beneficiaries extend well beyond GPU manufacturers. As enterprises continue investing in AI infrastructure, Ives believes the broader ecosystem—not just Nvidia itself—stands to capture years of additional spending.

So while Nvidia may be the star of the show, the whole tech sector is getting a piece of the action. As Ives put it, everyone else is just paying rent—but that rent is adding up fast.