NVIDIA’s Next-Gen HPC & AI GPU Architecture Could Be Named After Astronomer, Vera Rubin – R100 GPUs To Replace Blackwell B100

NVIDIA plans on naming its next-gen GPU architecture for R100 GPUs after the astronomer, Vera Rubin, as revealed by the reputable leaker kopite7kimi.

As per the latest information, NVIDIA's next-gen GPU architecture will be named after Vera Rubin. She was an American astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of dark matter in the universe while also pioneering work on galaxy rotation rate. Her findings suggested the presence of significant amounts of unseen mass, now known as dark matter, influencing the gravitational dynamics of galaxies. The expected commemoration by NVIDIA is well-justified, given that Vera Rubin has played a vital role in how we perceive dark matter in modern times.

Miss the Golden Age of Exploration. https://t.co/CQ9kCVrqZc

— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) October 12, 2023

While kopite7kimi hasn't mentioned the fact that NVIDIA's next GPU architecture will be named after Vera Rubin, he did mention her in a post on X along with revealing potential SKUs with the"R" branding in another tweet. The new architecture is expected to replace Blackwell in 2025 in the naming scheme, and we might see new GPUs surfacing up with the "R" letter.

However, it should be mentioned that NVIDIA hasn't particularly used or mentioned the R100 or GR200 naming scheme anywhere yet. The follow-up to Blackwell B100 GPUs is still labeled as the X100 or GX100 but the Kopite, who has a really good track record of GPU names, seems to think that the X100 series might be pushed back and we will instead get the R100 GPUs.

It will be interesting to see what naming scheme NVIDIA ends up choosing for the successor to its Blackwell B100 GPUs which are pretty much confirmed, officially. NVIDIA's Blackwell GPU naming will be used across HPC/AI and Gaming GPUs but it is yet to be determined if the Rubin "GR***" naming convention will be adopted by the gaming lineup or if we will see the architecture in any form or shape for the consumer segment. Since the lineup is years away from now, we won't know until we are very close to launch but one should anticipate exciting times ahead.