Jensen Huang, the CEO of the world's most valuable chipmaker, departed Taiwan for Houston tonight on Monday with a clear message for the tech world: The AI race is accelerating, and NVIDIA intends to keep its lead by "running as fast as we can".
In an airport interview before his departure, Huang confirmed he would return to Taiwan in June for Computex, one of the world's largest computer and technology trade shows. He promised to deliver a keynote address that will headline a wave of new technology.
"I'll be back no later than Computex," Huang told reporters. "We have a big keynote in Computex, we have a lot of announcements... it's going to be a very exciting Computex this year."
Credit: Youtube livestream
"NVIDIA is Everywhere"
For American investors and tech enthusiasts tracking the semiconductor wars, Huang offered a candid assessment of the intensifying market. With tech giants and startups alike racing to build their own custom AI silicon, Huang admitted the environment is shifting.
"It's just very hard and it's getting harder and harder," Huang said regarding the competition. He noted that the market has already seen casualties, with many startups having "gone out of business" or been acquired,.
However, Huang pushed back against the idea that NVIDIA's "moat" is shrinking. He argued that while competitors often focus on specific niches, NVIDIA remains the only player embedded in every sector of the industry.
"NVIDIA is the only company that works with every AI company," Huang asserted. "We're in every cloud... we're in data centers on-prem, we're also in robots and cars... NVIDIA is everywhere.",
Despite this dominance, he emphasized that the company cannot rest: "We're going to have to keep running as fast as we can."
Bullish on the Supply Chain
Huang's comments also served as a strong buy signal for the health of the hardware supply chain. He noted that his manufacturing partners—specifically naming giants like TSMC, Foxconn, and Wistron—had "record years" recently,.
He predicted this momentum would not slow down. "They're all going to have incredible years this year," Huang said, stating that his primary reason for the trip was to celebrate the Chinese New Year with these partners and "get everybody ready for a giant year.",
Beyond the GPU
Addressing NVIDIA's massive hiring push, Huang highlighted how the company's engineering needs have evolved beyond simple graphics cards.
"A long time ago NVIDIA built GPUs only, but today we build CPUs and GPUs and networking chips and switches and a lot of very complicated things," Huang explained,. He added that the company is constructing a new "incredibly beautiful" building in Taiwan to house this expanding workforce, which he plans to unveil as a surprise during a future visit,.
The "Rockstar" Exit
True to the approachable persona that has made him a celebrity figure in the tech world, Huang spent his final minutes at the airport signing baseballs and chatting with fans. When a reporter asked him to autograph a wallet, Huang joked, "Every wallet I sign I take money out... nothing's free."
Article edited by Joseph Chen
