Nvidia, the industry leader in the production of graphics processors, is the hottest tech company of the moment. Last week, the American company achieved sensational results with 11 billion in revenues in the first quarter of the year (against the 7,2 expected) reaching a capitalization of over one trillion dollars on 30 May. The company also presented a new artificial intelligence supercomputer (AI) called DGX GH200 which according to its president and CEO, Jensen Huang, will score a “turning point for a new information age“.
And it is also, Jensen Huang, to rise to the headlines for his motivational speech to students of National Taiwan University in Taipei. Words that are a life lesson and who recalled the famous speech "Stay hungry, stay foolish" by Steve Jobs, done at Stanford University a few months before his death. “Run. Don't walk. Remember: run both when you're hunting for food and when you're prey” Huang told the undergraduates.
Jensen Huang's speech: three stories of failures and difficulties
Jensen Huang, born in 1963 is the co-founder of Nvidia of which he is also president and CEO. Born in Tainan on the island of Taiwan, he moved to Oregon, USA at the age of nine, growing up there with his family. To the audience of undergraduates he told his experience: the birth, growth and consecration of Nvidia which has gone through three golden periods such as the advent of graphics cards, the explosion of cryptocurrencies and now the arrival of artificial intelligence. In particular, in his speech about him, he wanted to tell three stories of failures, difficulties and falls which led the company to become what it is today. Stories of failures and difficulties from which, however, great opportunities have arisen.
In first story, Huang told how Nvidia started out as a 3D graphics company for PC gaming by getting a deal with Sega to contribute to their console. After a year of the agreement, the Nvidia team had realized that the road was wrong because their technology would not be compatible with Windows. Huang has thus chosen to take an unusual action, suggesting that Sega find another partner and asking them to pay the company. Sega accepted, giving the company six months of survival. This lesson taught Huang the importance of acknowledging mistakes and asking for help: “Sega's understanding and generosity allowed us to survive for another six months. There awareness of our mistakes, and our humility in asking for help, saved Nvidia”.
In second story, the CEO spoke of the launch of Cuda GPU in 2007, an innovative programming language that had high costs for the company. Despite pressure from investors to abandon the project, Huang and his team persevered and ultimately achieved great success. A perseverance which led to the "Big Bang of AI" and which allowed Nvidia to reach a market valuation of over a trillion dollars.
In third story, talked about how Nvidia decided to leave the mobile chip market despite the initial success. This difficult decision allowed the company to focus on a new market, such as robotics and automation, which has led to considerable success. Huang thus underlined theimportance of making sacrifices and renunciations to pursue your vision.
The epic conclusion of the speech: “Run. Don't walk"
At the conclusion of the speech, Huang addressed the students directly with truly touching words: “Class of 2023 you will witness great changes. And just like me, who faced the PC and chip revolution, you are today in the starting blocks of the AI era. Every sector will be revolutionized. Ready for new ideas: your ideas. In 40 years we have created the PC, the internet, mobile devices, the cloud and now artificial intelligence. And what will you create? Whatever it is, chase her like we did. Run. Don't walk. Remember: run both when you are hunting for food and when you are prey”.
