Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) has laid out a strategy to keep the AI infrastructure boom self-sustaining: raise the value of its GPUs to the point where the hardware funds its own growth. Wall Street remains unconvinced.

The disagreement centers on a single number. Nvidia says its GPUs can keep generating income for up to ten years. Banks and credit investors, by contrast, typically apply depreciation schedules of roughly three to four years when they underwrite loans against the hardware.

That six-to-seven-year gap matters because Nvidia is pursuing a $500 billion funding project designed to bring institutional capital into AI infrastructure at scale. If lenders assign the chips lower long-term values, borrowers face higher interest rates, larger financial buffers, or demands for additional guaranties.

According to the report, several banks and credit investors want stronger guaranties before extending loans secured by Nvidia hardware. The lifespan dispute is the main point of contention.

Demand for AI financing remains strong. Transactions worth tens of billions of dollars are reportedly in the works, though some of these deals would carry tougher customer contracts and additional guaranties to give lenders more security.

For Nvidia investors, the stakes go beyond the financing mechanics. Easier access to credit determines whether customers can continue buying computing infrastructure as it becomes increasingly expensive. The availability of institutional funding directly supports demand for Nvidia's products.

The open question is structural. Future chip-backed transactions must attract investors on terms that do not require Nvidia itself to absorb substantially more financial risk. Whether the company can close the gap between a claimed ten-year useful life and a three-to-four-year lending schedule — without becoming the backstop for its own customers' debt — will shape how much of the $500 billion project ultimately gets funded on market terms.