How Nvidia’s Jensen Huang is Changing the Tech World and Embracing AI

When Jensen Huang’s software company Nvidia invented the graphic processing unit, it fundamentally changed the world.

 Huang is set to receive the Gold House A1  honor in business and technology.

 The GPU was one step ahead of the CPU (computer processing unit) and being one step ahead is how Huang, Nvidia’s president and CEO, has been.

 Nvidia began life as a gaming company in 1993, but in the past three decades, the company has been behind countless innovative technological advancements. It dominates the GPU market, accounting for 88% of global sales, and is the market leader in providing artificial intelligence solutions. Having cornered the market in GPUs, Nvidia has pivoted to a wide range of AI applications, including self-driving cars, facial recognition and natural language processing. In doing so, the company has expanded its market reach — it dominates 70% of the market share for AI chip sales. 

The key to Nvidia’s success is being ahead of the game, and they did that with AI, early on. Speaking at the New York Times Deal- Book Summit in last year, Huang said: “We observed and realized that about a decade and a half ago. I think a lot of people are still trying to sort that out. The reason why people say we’re practically the only company doing it is because we’re probably the only company that got it. And people are still trying to get it.” 

Today, Huang ranks as the 20th richest person in the world on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, and he has an estimated net worth of $73 billion, up $29 billion since the start of the year.

And how does Huang achieve great success? What’s his secret? “I work from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I work seven days a week. When I’m not working, I’m thinking about working, and when I’m working, I’m working. I sit through movies, but I don’t remember them because I’m thinking about work,” Huang told Stripe Cofounder and CEO Patrick Collison.