NVIDIA vs 
xAI
Verdict
- xAI's flagship leads: Grok 4.6 at 63.8 vs Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B at 58.3.
- xAI has the better model in 3 of 4 price bands.
- NVIDIA's fastest ranked model (nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b, 231 tok/s) beats xAI's (Grok 4.3, 113 tok/s).
- NVIDIA publishes more open-weights models (32 vs 0).
- NVIDIA ships more often: one model every 26 days against every 42.
Best model per price band
Each provider’s highest-index model below the price ceiling. Purple marks the winner of the band.
| Price band | NVIDIA | xAI |
|---|---|---|
| Under $0.50/M | Gemma-4-31B-IT 55.4$0.205/M | – |
| Under $2/M | Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B 58.3$1.00/M | Grok 4.3 medium 60.7$1.56/M |
| Under $10/M | Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B 58.3$1.00/M | Grok 4.6 medium 63.8$3.00/M |
| Any price | Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B 58.3$1.00/M | Grok 4.6 medium 63.8$3.00/M |
Line-up
| Metric | NVIDIA | xAI |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship index | 58.3 | 63.8 |
| Ranked models | 19 | 14 |
| Open-weights models | 32 | 0 |
| Cheapest ranked, $/M | $0.063 | $1.25 |
| Fastest ranked, tok/s | 231 | 113 |
| Release cadence, days | 26 | 42 |
| Last release | 11 Aug 2026 | 12 Aug 2026 |
| Next expected | 26 Aug 2026 – 16 Sept 2026 | 6 Sept 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |