AI chips can remain useful for years after a newer generation arrives, but there is no universal retirement age. Physical life is how long the hardware works; economic life is how long operating it remains worthwhile; accounting life is the period over which its cost is depreciated. NVIDIA announced A100 shipments on May 14, 2020 and reported continued commercial use in October 2026. That establishes relevance more than six years after the model launched, not six years of service for every individual GPU.
How to read this finding
How quickly do GPUs become obsolete? It depends on the workload, memory needs, software support, electricity costs, and available alternatives. A chip can lose its place in frontier training while remaining useful for smaller models, inference, or scientific computing. A100 also leads the index’s 2026 NVIDIA citation estimate, which includes second-half projections. Citations show research use, not chip age, utilization, realized revenue, or investment returns. Continued use does not establish an average physical lifespan or guarantee recovery of the original purchase price.
Company filings and hardware documentation reviewed October 11, 2026. Accounting examples use 2025 annual reports; vendor claims are attributed. Research citations do not measure profitability, and this index has no rental-price or resale-value series.
