SAN JOSE, March 18 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence

semiconductor powerhouse Nvidia ( NVDA ) kicks off its annual

developer conference on Monday, with investors focused on new

chip announcements from Chief Executive Jensen Huang in an

afternoon keynote address.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) new chip and software announcements at GTC 2024

will help determine whether Nvidia ( NVDA ) can maintain its leadership

position as the dominant seller of the tools needed to fuel the

past year's frenzy around AI. Nvidia ( NVDA ) dominates the data center

AI chip market, capturing roughly an 80% share last year.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) market share is expected to drop several percentage

points in 2024 as new products from rivals such as Intel ( INTC )

and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) hit the market.

Huang is expected to announce the next generation of AI

processors designed by the company. The forthcoming B100 chip is

expected to include significant improvements over its

predecessor, the H100.

Though Nvidia ( NVDA ) is widely regarded as a chip designer, the

company has built a significant battery of software products as

well, and Huang is expected to unveil a swath of new products

related to software on Monday. Nvidia ( NVDA ) said earlier this year its

software and services business had reached an annual run rate of

$1 billion by the end of the company's last fiscal year.

The Santa Clara, California, company is holding GTC in

person this year for the first time since 2019. It expects

roughly 16,000 people to attend, about double the last in-person

event.

Huang's keynote address is set to take place at a Silicon

Valley hockey arena at 1:00 p.m. (2000 GMT), the largest venue

the company has secured for such an event.