Jensen Huang: Founder and CEO of NVIDIA

So nice to be here. Welcome to the inaugural podcast for A Bit Personal. The inaugural? Yeah, the inaugural. You're the

Bit Personal. The inaugural? Yeah, the inaugural. You're the

first one. I'm the first? You were the first that I asked and you said yes in one second. Oh dear. So you regret you said yes? Well, I

didn't realize it was going to be A Bit Personal. Yeah. Yeah, we're

going to go deep. Okay, well, just keep it nice and shallow. You

like that better. Anyway, so the concept of the podcast is that the general public is really very interested in people like you that are determining the future of technology, which is the future of their world, right? So let's find out what your values are, your personal story behind your public success. You like that

concept? No, not really. Yeah? Not really, but I'll go along with it. You're

concept? No, not really. Yeah? Not really, but I'll go along with it. You're

a celebrity. People want to know about celebrities. I don't see myself as a celebrity. And I'm not a celebrity. I just happen to run a very important company, and I'm the CEO of one of the most successful technology companies in history. We made some good decisions a long time ago.

In 1993, we wanted to reinvent computing, and we had a perspective about how computers ought to be built. And it was not a very popular view for a very long time, and it was rather controversial, in fact. And everybody

thought that microprocessors and CPUs, and this is the time you and I met. Yes. I mean, most people don't realize, the audience probably don't

met. Yes. I mean, most people don't realize, the audience probably don't realize, that you and I met 1994, probably, or 1993 late, that kind of stuff. Right. And so, NVIDIA was trying to do then what we're trying to

stuff. Right. And so, NVIDIA was trying to do then what we're trying to do now, reinvent computing. And at the time, in Silicon Valley, as you know, it was during the era of CPUs and Moore's Law and the PC revolution. And in fact, all of your early customers

right, were all PC chipset startups. They were the formation of the fabulous semiconductor industry. Cirrus Logic, S3, Western Digital, Trident, remember all those companies? -

All of them, yes. - Those were the forefathers of NVIDIA, and here we are. We're trying to create a new computing approach, and it took 33 years for this to happen. But I just happened to be the CEO of that company, that's all. And it happened really, maybe

not for you, but for the world, it happened very suddenly. It

was basically November of 2023. The whole world changed. So how was that transition? Well, you know, in order to create the future, you

transition? Well, you know, in order to create the future, you have to live in the future long before it happens. And it's, to be honest, when we first started, CUDA, we invented the technology. The

thing that I'm really proud about NVIDIA is we're great at inventing technology, but then inventing products to carry the technology to market. There are countless companies and researchers and inventors who have created technology and they're the people that say things like, "Oh, I did that before." And or I

thought of that or I invented that or you know And so anyways it always it always kills me That all these great inventors didn't also have the benefit of having great product inventors These are the innovators that take these inventions that then invent products to take it to market But then

you also have to invent strategies to take it to market and then you have to invent in fact even the market is You have to shape the market to receive your products that you invented and the strategies that you developed.

And NVIDIA was really built to be a company that can invent technology, invent products, invent strategies, and invent ecosystems and markets. And we've done that repeatedly. And

so I think in a lot of ways, I've been living in this future for a long time. There was a strategy a long time ago. We

don't do it as much anymore, but it was called CUDA Everywhere. And people tell stories of me schlepping CUDA to universities and startup companies and established companies. I schlep CUDA everywhere. And sometimes

established companies. I schlep CUDA everywhere. And sometimes

there'll be an audience of literally three people.

And I would pull out my-- and back then, I'd pull out my laptop and present CUDA and tell them about why this is going to change the world. And I visited researchers and laboratories and went to

world. And I visited researchers and laboratories and went to conferences. I put on more CUDA miles than any human in the world. And

conferences. I put on more CUDA miles than any human in the world. And

so for a long time I've been living in this future, you tell the story long enough, you kind of feel like it's happened. And so I think all of this is still a great, great delight. And, you know, in my mind, it's not surprising because the first principles that

we built the company on are fundamental principles. They're not

based on a hunch or it's not based on, you know, a taste or it's on fundamental principles of computer science. And so what is happening now is in a lot of ways inevitable. The thing that I would say though is that by making something go incredibly

fast, if you make something go a thousand times faster or a thousand times larger or a thousand times smaller, whatever that is, some phase change happens. And that phase change and the result of that, the state that

change happens. And that phase change and the result of that, the state that it results in, is surprising. And so I think in a lot of ways, we knew that deep learning could be a lot larger, which is the reason why we pivoted the whole company behind it. We knew that AlexNet couldn't have

been the end of it and that the architecture is something that's quite scalable.

And the amount of data in the world is abundant. And so that was a natural resource we felt that was achievable. The one technology that I knew was going to be an obstacle to us was unsupervised learning or self-supervised learning. That

the computer could learn by itself without human labeling because humans would be the bottleneck. And when that happened, I knew we were off to the races and you

bottleneck. And when that happened, I knew we were off to the races and you know people still I was just on an investor roadshow and and people tell me that that I told them right around that time that there was a phase change and if you go back and listen to my earnings call when I jump into jump into a topic that that's really important for the world I emphasized it

really really clearly and I talked about on every single investor roadshow and everywhere I go I would talk about those things and and that unsupervised learning or self-supervised learning has really made a great achievement. And then the scaling laws were unleashed and then we were boom, you know, off to the races. Now,

the type of problems we're able to solve as a result of that is still surprising to me, you know, because you knew the phase shift would come and you knew the platform shift would come, but as a result of all that, we're now learning the language of proteins, and we're learning the language of cells, and we're learning the language of quantum, and we're learning the language of all these

representations of all these different things. And the language that we used to represent information in the past is now being reinvented. Everything from

geometries and textures to now 3D Gaussian splats and all of these different representations. It's kind of like all of a sudden we became so smart that the

representations. It's kind of like all of a sudden we became so smart that the English language actually got changed. That we no longer use the words and vocabulary and structure and grammar that we use because all of a sudden we became so much smarter that we can communicate in another dimension. And so we're maybe

beeping and blopping at each other, you know, it's kind of like that movie Arrival, you know, all of a sudden we're just looking at shapes and the amount of information just looking at shapes. you know, causes us to be able to, allows us to communicate in a much, much deeper way and much faster way. And so

it's incredible that we're not only solving problems that are completely unimaginable before and we're doing it at a speed now. What used to be Moore's Law of Time, you know, NVIDIA's time, NVIDIA Law of Time is completely, I mean, it's a thousand times faster. And so the next 10 years is

going to be extraordinary. That I think is exciting. So the kind of confidence that it takes to do what you did, to be able to see into the future and be absolutely confident that it's going to happen. So as you said earlier, we met in 1994. I've been the same since. I know.

Yeah. I was in my 20s. Maybe you're a little bit older than me, hopefully.

I was 29 when we met. Yeah, 30 when we met. Yeah. So I remember our very first meeting at the headquarters in Sunnyvale, T. Rose Way or something.

Yeah, exactly. It's a massage parlor or something like that. Acupuncture

parlor. Yeah. That makes sense. Anyway, I was interviewing you for a magazine and I said, so Jensen, are you worried about sort of the rotating door in Silicon Valley, people coming and going? Because a lot of CEOs are complaining about this. Again, you're 29 or 30 years old and you were like, hmm, Jody,

about this. Again, you're 29 or 30 years old and you were like, hmm, Jody, NVIDIA is neither a church nor a prison. You don't have to come and you don't have to stay. And I remember being so impressed by it. I was like, "Who is this guy?" Such confidence and such wisdom at a young age.

And I remember Morris Chang has a similar story when he first met you that you immediately said, "I'm going to be your biggest customer or one of your biggest customers." And he's like, "Wow, that's a lot of gumption." So

where did that confidence come from at such an early age? Well, you know, It's rough to know everything, you know? I'm just kidding. By the way, Morris will be happy to know NVIDIA is TSMC's largest customer. Yeah, I'm sure he's very proud of you. Yeah, and I'm proud of him. We were his largest

customer during the PC revolution. Okay. And now we're his largest customer again, and I'm very happy about that.

You know, I say that you have to believe what you believe. And so your belief shouldn't be based on anecdotal, you know, somebody said something, therefore you believe it. You have to reason through for what reason do you believe this and break down your reasoning into

sound first principles. And then you have to check it on a regular basis that these principles that you're building everything that you believe in and are doing are sound, that the foundation is sound. And if it's not sound, if it changed for some reason, it wasn't a first principles, maybe it wasn't

defined by anchored in physics or anchored in ground truth or something like that. If that changes, then you reevaluate and you move on. And so I've

that. If that changes, then you reevaluate and you move on. And so I've always lived in that way. And so if you believe in something, you owe it to yourself to do something about it. And I believed in what we're doing. I believed it in 1993. I believe it today. And therefore, if you believe

doing. I believed it in 1993. I believe it today. And therefore, if you believe this, then so what? and just keep reasoning through it. And

then, you know, I'm doing that reasoning exercise in my head continuously.

I'm constantly, you know, reevaluating, constantly extrapolating, constantly reevaluating the past. And that's, you know, if you're having meetings with me, and yesterday we're having meetings, in so many different meetings, I would reason through the past again. And this is how we got here. And notice, all

of those assumptions were right, but some of those assumptions were in fact wrong. And as it led to this moment, we were agile and we adjusted. But it's always good to go back in time and re-evaluate and re-reason through that. It teaches you how to reason

forward. And so because I've always done that, I just live in that

forward. And so because I've always done that, I just live in that truth. And To this day, I still believe that I still feel like I'm

truth. And To this day, I still believe that I still feel like I'm an employee of this company and I care about this company a lot.

But there are a lot of employees that care about this company a lot.

The CEO was always designed to be in a well-governed company. The

CEO was always designed to report to the board of directors and the board of directors report to shareholders. And if the CEO doesn't do his job, you know, according to 12, 13, 15 board members who are however size the board is, the CEO is let go. And so

therefore, it's an employment in an institution. And it's not like a church because not everybody gets to come. And it's not like a prison because not everybody has to stay. Right. And so...

That state of mind keeps you grounded. It keeps you humble. It keeps you fresh. You're always earning

humble. It keeps you fresh. You're always earning your job. And sometimes people ask me, Jensen, do you

your job. And sometimes people ask me, Jensen, do you love your job? I don't love my job every day, but I do it to my mightiest every day. And I think that that comes from that whole package of recognizing that one, I'm

the best person for the job. I believe that. And two, I have to earn being the best person for that job every day. So, I mean, you have been, you are NVIDIA and NVIDIA is you. I mean, that's, you've become that. I'm the most frequently taken picture of the people of NVIDIA. Yeah, but

that. I'm the most frequently taken picture of the people of NVIDIA. Yeah, but

whoever is the next CEO of this company is going to be the NVIDIA. Can

there really be a next CEO of this company? Well, there will never be one like me. And the reason for that is because I was raised by the company. When I first started NVIDIA, I didn't know anything about being CEO or strategist or product maker or industry

creator. I didn't know how to do any of that. I didn't know

creator. I didn't know how to do any of that. I didn't know how to raise money, I didn't know how to talk to shareholders, understand the sensibility of shareholders and policymakers and country leaders and company leaders. I didn't know any of that. I didn't know the sensibility of employees and

leaders. I didn't know any of that. I didn't know the sensibility of employees and how to create a culture. What does it even mean to say culture? I couldn't

formulate a company strategy if I tried. And so that was day one. And in

this 33 years, I've become better at all of that. If

there's ever a Yoda of company strategies and industry creators, it probably looks like a short little guy like me. I've

dedicated my career learning these things, and I'm a good student. I also bring to the job a level of intensity and deep care that is harder to hire into. In a lot of ways, NVIDIA is one of my children. And I

care about it as if it's one of my children.

And my children even helped me raise those children. And so in a lot of ways,

children. And so in a lot of ways, In a lot of ways, I feel about it that that is hard to replace, that that is true. But that's because I've been doing it for 33 years.

And I've seen every aspect of it, its successes and failures and setbacks and things that it did smart and dumb and stupid. And I've seen all that. And so I have a feeling about this company that you can't easily replace

that. And so I have a feeling about this company that you can't easily replace by hiring somebody who's just good at doing something. So I get that.

On the other hand, the way that the NVIDIA management team is set up, I've got almost 60 direct reports. And there are 60 people who could be world-class CEOs for many other companies. And I reason in front of them constantly. I

mean, literally all the time. And every single decision I made, I've made in front of them. I've reasoned through it in front of them. I've spoken

of them. I've reasoned through it in front of them. I've spoken

about successes and setbacks and challenges and adversity all in front of them. And so in a lot of ways, NVIDIA has 61 CEOs. And they care deeply about this company. Many

CEOs. And they care deeply about this company. Many

of them have been here for a long time, 33 years in some cases. And so I think NVIDIA has just been built like no

cases. And so I think NVIDIA has just been built like no other company ever has been built. And it also speaks to our resilience like no other company will have. So obviously that kind of structure that you have is very legendary in the industry now. Everybody

talks about it, these nearly 60 reports. So in order for that to work, those people have to be exceptional. Okay, not just brilliant because there's a lot of brilliant people in Silicon Valley. They have to be exceptional specifically for video. Yeah. So tell

me a little bit about how you curate those people. And then secondly, there's been many times that you didn't hire in a position until you found the right person. And I'm thinking specifically of Colette. You interviewed 22 CFOs before you

person. And I'm thinking specifically of Colette. You interviewed 22 CFOs before you hired her. And now she's, you know, she's a legend in her her own right

hired her. And now she's, you know, she's a legend in her her own right on Wall Street. So maybe how did you choose her and how do you curate those types of people? What do you look for? An empty chair

people? What do you look for? An empty chair is better than a chair filled with the wrong person. And so I'm never in a hurry. The

person. And so I'm never in a hurry. The

company will keep moving on. And whether

it's a missing CEO or missing VP of anything, the company will keep moving on.

And so you just have to have the confidence of what I just said. If you can convince yourself of what I just said, that

said. If you can convince yourself of what I just said, that these two ideas, the empty chair and the company is going to keep moving on, then it buys you enormous amounts of time until you find somebody that is a combination of a lot of things,

including you just like them. Colette, on her first week, I think she asked me, "Jensen, how long do you want me to be your CFO?" And

I said, "For as long as we shall live." Death do us part. Yeah,

yeah. Because the alternative doesn't make sense. Any other answer is the wrong answer. For what reason is there an end date? And the end date is

answer. For what reason is there an end date? And the end date is when she decides NVIDIA is no longer right for her. That applies to Colette. That

applies to all 60 of the NVIDIA direct reports. And I keep chairs open for a long time. And the company just keeps on carrying on. And people swarm the mission. Whatever the mission is, whatever the job that needs to be done,

mission. Whatever the mission is, whatever the job that needs to be done, people will swarm it anyways. And worst case, I'll do my best and just carry on. And so that's just a philosophy. Don't ever fill a chair with the wrong

on. And so that's just a philosophy. Don't ever fill a chair with the wrong person. Wait until the right person comes along. And that right person...

person. Wait until the right person comes along. And that right person...

You know, I'm asked all the time what makes a great employee, what makes a great leader. Surprisingly, I

don't have the answer. And the reason for that is this.

They're all smart. They're all competent. You find me a CFO somewhere, and I promise you they're competent. And

they're competent enough. And so you find me a whole bunch of functions. You find me a CEO. And I work with CEOs all over the world, and they are all competent. Let's just be clear about that. And many of them, when I'm working with them, I

was like, gosh, you're super competent and super smart. It's all

completely true. And yet, in the end, what makes the magic of NVIDIA is a combination of the chemistry of the people that are together. But mostly, I would tell you,

together. But mostly, I would tell you, that it's just corporate character. And that character comes from somewhere. That's what defines great companies. Somehow, there

somewhere. That's what defines great companies. Somehow, there

are a lot of companies building chips. We invented the GPU. But from a volume perspective, we're the smallest GPU company in the world. I know it sounds weird, but we are. Everybody makes more GPUs

world. I know it sounds weird, but we are. Everybody makes more GPUs than I do. It's like some random person makes more GPUs than we do. And

so clearly, clearly, it's not that. And so I think somehow there's a magic in the corporate culture, the corporate character, how teams come together during adversity. I

mean, people see us just kind of strolling through life, but getting Grace Blackwell into production almost broke our company's back. But we wouldn't let it. It is just extraordinarily complicated and

it. It is just extraordinarily complicated and incredibly large scale. And the expectations were incredible. And for us to live up to it and exceed it with it almost

incredible. And for us to live up to it and exceed it with it almost breaking our back, that's 100% character. That's not intelligence.

That's not hard work. There are a lot of people that work hard.

There are a lot of people that are super smart. That is 100% character.

And where that comes from, You just can't interview that into existence. And the thing that I believe is this: I actually kind of believe that you can bring almost anybody into NVIDIA and we will instill character into

you. And that I think is the magic of our company, that

you. And that I think is the magic of our company, that somehow we could suffer pain And we can endure incredible challenges and come out of the other side.

Right. And we could do it over and over and over again. And very few companies can do that as a team. Usually somebody gets left behind. You know,

usually what happens is you go through one of these incredible challenges and then somebody leaves because of a bad feeling or because they were blamed and they were fired or they were... They somehow felt it's always by the way, it's always somebody's fault I don't want to you know, let's let's be clear about about

building companies and teams at the end of the game We lost as a team, but there's no question who dropped the pass and so we have to be clear about that and and we are clear about that and because because We have such a safe environment all the people who drop passes in the past

including myself are and I've dropped plenty of passes and the passes I dropped, you know, everybody's watching.

Nobody's been fired for dropping passes. And so this company has developed a culture, a personality, a lot of it reflecting our own. That tolerance and forgiveness and learning from mistakes. And

own. That tolerance and forgiveness and learning from mistakes. And

so long as maybe a couple of things that's really super important to me, so long as the teammates gave everything of themselves. That's good enough for me. So is that, I mean, you have

of themselves. That's good enough for me. So is that, I mean, you have a reputation for really not liking to fire people, and hopefully no one likes to fire people. But so that's your theory that you have to make these people better or your team has to make them better?

Yeah, like the company made me better. You know, I wasn't then what I am today, you know, and what I know today is No volume encyclopedia could hold it. And if somebody were to ask me what I learned at NVIDIA and write a book, I wouldn't even know where to

start. And so this company gave me the chance to

start. And so this company gave me the chance to become what I am. And this company also gave the entire management team the opportunity to become what they are.

And I got to tell you, 100% of those 60 people are different today than they were when they started. I can tell you they're great today. We were fine in the beginning. We're good in the beginning

today. We were fine in the beginning. We're good in the beginning like anybody else. And so the company tortured greatness out of us. And the company forged incredible character into us. That's the

of us. And the company forged incredible character into us. That's the

magic of this company, that you could do that, not lose the person.

The company not giving up on you simultaneously That's our greatness. I

think and and can you can you can you hire people into that? Yes, I

believe so and I've proven repeatedly that we've done that and and and the people that come in they're good and I see them and I'm good and they're good so long as I enjoy working with them, you know, they have to they they can't be a jerk and And so long as they can't be self-serving,

they can't be, you know, I can't work with people that can't answer simple questions. That's my trigger. To the extent that they really want to be part

questions. That's my trigger. To the extent that they really want to be part of the team, they can be transparent, they can be vulnerable, and they can learn.

They don't have to know it all. You know, they just have to learn it all, you know. And to the extent that all of that is true, we'll forge greatness into them. This episode is brought to you by GSME. GSME is a leading global provider of tailored silicon solutions

by GSME. GSME is a leading global provider of tailored silicon solutions dedicated to empowering semiconductor and system companies with cutting-edge technology and unparalleled expertise, founded in 2022 by Farhat Jahangir.

Its comprehensive range of services include end-to-end chip design, full turnkey manufacturing capabilities, rigorous quality assurance, and strategic incubation to help its partners bring innovative products to market. At GSME, they are committed to transforming semiconductor manufacturing landscape by optimizing processes, accelerating product development cycles, and ensuring faster

time to market for next generation applications. GSME gives full visibility of the supply chain to its customers. Now back to the episode. So you talk a lot about pain and suffering as kind of building blocks of NVIDIA. That's our

secret sauce. And you've said before that... Yeah, come work with me. That's

my gift. It's very attractive. Yeah, exactly. So what do you think about, I mean, if you're a young person out there... It's true, right? It's so interesting.

You know, when people ask, you know, why come work at NVIDIA, pain and suffering is a big part of it. Right. Was there ever any sort of sacrifice that you made that was too big for what you accomplished at NVIDIA? No.

Everything was worth it? You have to do it right. I think I was fortunate. In

right. I think I was fortunate. In

my case, I was fortunate because Laurie, Madison, Spencer were kind of, you know, grew up with the company. And I I was fortunate that Lori always had a great interest in the company. And she didn't

meddle, but she knew everything about the company. She just dedicated herself to read everything, learn everything, and always be there. And she's never missed an event. She's never even missed one of our campy little shareholder meetings back in the old days when we did it live.

And so, and her interest and dedication to supporting the company and me rubbed off on the kids. And the kids read everything, watched everything, came to everything. You know, they probably listened to more bad speeches of mine than any human ever. And

The pain and suffering. The pain and suffering of that. And so I was fortunate that they had the interest in the company and loved the company the way I loved the company. And so my sacrifices for the company probably for that reason didn't translate directly into a

sacrifice for them. I missed most of the karate tournaments and I missed most of their practices. Well, nearly most is too generous for me, but I would say nearly all. And back in the old days, we didn't have smartphones. And so the definition of

going to work means going to work. And it meant missing every dinner. It meant missing every weekend.

And so, you know, that's what we did. And so I was fortunate that, you know, our family chemistry made it possible for them to not feel alienated, you know, they felt part of it the whole time. Right, right. You know, and so-- Yeah, no, I think that integration of family life and work life, I mean, it works for some people. It

worked for me, too. I mean, my children, my youngest went to meet Morris Chang when he was four months old. Yeah, yeah. You know, so they've known this industry and been around it for the whole time, too. And which one did I meet? You met Elijah. Elijah, right. And then my youngest is Hudson. OK, OK.

meet? You met Elijah. Elijah, right. And then my youngest is Hudson. OK, OK.

Yeah. Yeah. He interviewed you. That's right. Yeah. He was terrific. Yeah. What's he

doing now? He works at Ferrari. Wow. No way. Very cool. No way.

Okay. Well, I know who to call to get the first EV. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And then the youngest is going to be a filmmaker. So

he's at NYU film school. Is that right? Yeah. Wow. Wow. Okay. Well, one

of these days when they make a documentary of you, I guess. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Exactly. One of the, I think, one of your best characteristics or skill, because you could say it's either, is that although you're for sure the hardest working billionaire in the world, maybe Elon would argue with that, but...

But when you're with someone, you're all in. They have your undivided attention. It's

as if you have nothing better to do than sit down and talk to me. And you make people feel special. That's a rare gift. So tell

to me. And you make people feel special. That's a rare gift. So tell

me a little bit about that intentionality and what others can learn from it. Because I think it's one of the most important gifts. Or again, skills.

it. Because I think it's one of the most important gifts. Or again, skills.

I'm not sure which it is. I appreciate that. Yeah. I think it's humility and respect. You know, I think the... I love watching people cook. I don't know about you, but I love watching people cook. I love

cook. I don't know about you, but I love watching people cook. I love

watching people do gardening. I love watching people do things they love and that they're good at. When we go to restaurants, I always prefer to sit at the bar so I'm closer to the kitchen. I love watching people do their work. Because, you know, I respect their artistry,

I respect their craft, I respect, you know, I'm inspired by them dedicating themselves to the work that they do. And you're always learning something, you

they do. And you're always learning something, you know? You come out of that moment. And you're

know? You come out of that moment. And you're

slightly enriched by something you learned or greatly enriched by a new thought. And so I think from that perspective. Another perspective is I always want to help. I want your show to be great. Not for

me, but for you. Thank you. And I want your work to be great. And when somebody comes to me to ask me for help, I

great. And when somebody comes to me to ask me for help, I want them to succeed. If a CEO calls me-- and these days, I have a lot of CEOs who call me to ask for partnership award-- I want them to succeed, not for my benefit, for his benefit, for

their benefit. And I always enjoyed meeting Julie Sweet. I want her to succeed.

their benefit. And I always enjoyed meeting Julie Sweet. I want her to succeed.

You know, she's a fantastic CEO. I want her to succeed. Accenture,

right? Yeah. And so the list goes on. You know, I love watching people, other people succeed. And I love that I was able to help a little bit. And I'm not sure where that comes from, but it's a combination

bit. And I'm not sure where that comes from, but it's a combination of these two things. You know, I'm here because I want you to be able to get the most out of your opportunity. I want you to be able to launch this inaugural, you know, a little bit too personal. Is that what you

call it? Yeah, a bit personal. Okay, a little bit too personal. That's my new

call it? Yeah, a bit personal. Okay, a little bit too personal. That's my new title for you, a little bit too personal. We'll change it. You know, I bet a little bit too personal is probably catchier. Yeah. We'll go

rebrand everybody. Yeah. It came from Jensen. Anyhow, I think that's the reason why. So you know this philosophy of pain and suffering. We'll talk

about it a little bit more. So I recently heard Andy Karp on a podcast. And I don't wear a watch. Yeah. And as you know, everybody

podcast. And I don't wear a watch. Yeah. And as you know, everybody at NVIDIA is told when I'm doing something, You know, don't bother me.

Okay. Everything else can wait. We'll be here till lunch. If that's what it takes. If that's what it takes. So Andy Karp said that you can either

takes. If that's what it takes. So Andy Karp said that you can either enjoy your 20s or you can be successful. Do you believe that philosophy? I mean, is it really that a person has to-- I mean, not

philosophy? I mean, is it really that a person has to-- I mean, not everybody is going to be the CEO of Palantir or the CEO of Nvidia, but what does it take for a young person? What is the message to young people about their career and their success? Yeah. Gosh,

Alex is so smart, and he's got all kinds of very deep philosophies.

And the-- I guess I'm kind of low-key about all that stuff. You know, I personally think it's pretty

stuff. You know, I personally think it's pretty incredible that Morris worked until his 80s. He's still sharp as a knife. And that, you know, if there's a definition of a late bloomer,

knife. And that, you know, if there's a definition of a late bloomer, you know, look up late bloomer on Wikipedia. It's probably going to be, you know, a picture of Morris. And so how is that a bad thing? That

you get to enjoy the most productive life Times your real life and you get to do it for 50 years, you know and and and if that's the case and I'm kind of of that same cut same cut I mean I I would really love that I'm doing something productive rather than you know, the cliche and things, you

know I'm gonna go travel the world for the rest 20 my 20 years of my life and and Which is fine, you know, which is fine. But I'm traveling the world now. And I also

is fine. But I'm traveling the world now. And I also think that during our 20s, I will have to agree that in my 20s, I feel smarter. I can concentrate with greater intensity. I think faster. But the thing that I would

intensity. I think faster. But the thing that I would say is completely missed is all of the ability to be wiser, to be more nuanced, to be more strategic, to think longer term. I think all of that is

missed in the 20s. And I don't know how you learn those things by not living those things. You could always repeat those things by reading it. And you could always, you know, these days you could always watch

YouTube and if you're sufficiently empathetic, you could kind of, you know, feel empathy what other people are going through so you could maybe live their life through them, live your life through them and somehow gain that

wisdom by watching. So imitation learning is a real thing and so I think that that's terrific. But there's the grit that comes along with enduring um the the the knowledge of how to deal with pain and suffering the feelings of it not not the physical

feelings but the emotional toil and going through the the agony part of it the fear part of it and there are real fears i mean you know fear is a real thing in running companies right we're we have to we have the lives of tens of thousands of people and you know, in

the decisions we make when things are not going well, to not feel fear, to not feel anxiety, to not feel vulnerability, you know, makes you, in fact, a bad leader, to be so crass that you don't even care that how things are going to turn out. And so I

don't know how you've, how you learn those things without actually going through it. And so I I guess I see it both ways. If you could

through it. And so I I guess I see it both ways. If you could succeed early, your energy is abundant. You could stay up later, pull all-nighters, and you could work 10 times harder. But there's

something that's just really that I feel I have today that I really didn't have in my 30s. And as a result, even though I'm not thinking as fast as I used to, I come to the right answers faster.

Mm-hmm. because I have the benefit of wisdom and patterns and better strategy thinking. And so, you know, I'll go toe to toe with a 20

thinking. And so, you know, I'll go toe to toe with a 20 year old. I believe that. Yeah. Yeah. They got nothing on me.

year old. I believe that. Yeah. Yeah. They got nothing on me.

So let's get a little bit too personal. Okay. Okay. So tell me about a little bit about kind of the highlights and lowlights of your childhood that you think impacted that you can specifically trace to impact some characteristic that you have now. Maybe just kind of walk us

through coming from Taiwan to the U.S. and that ordeal or that experience, the journey. I don't think I'm extraordinarily or spectacularly intelligent. I

don't think I'm an outlier. When I was a kid and during that time, even entering schools, you have to take tests. And apparently I did very, very well in the test. And

tests. And apparently I did very, very well in the test. And

back then you have to do national tests and things like that. And I did very well in the test. And I kind of remember my mom always just telling everybody, telling me that you're incredibly smart. And whether that was actually true or not, the fact that my mom kept saying it over

and over again probably was helpful. And it kind of put a burden on me to need to be smart. And so maybe that's one of those things about parenting and leadership, that when you set expectations that are beyond

reason on some people and on your company, in a lot of ways they rise to it. And you can also imagine people cowering from it. But in my case, it just didn't do that. It helped me rise to it. That was an important, you know, that

do that. It helped me rise to it. That was an important, you know, that comes to mind, I guess. Another one I would say is just witnessing someone do something. You know, we were learning how to speak English, and my mom didn't even know how to speak English. But it didn't

stop her from... Every single day teaching us English I mean how is it possible that somebody who has no clue of English be teaching us English and my mom didn't even graduate from high school I don't think and and and so she's bought a Webster's dictionary and and You know wrote wrote the

English word. She learned how just by looking at the patterns wrote the word

English word. She learned how just by looking at the patterns wrote the word and wrote the Chinese translation folded a piece of paper in half and and then made us memorize all these words. And I don't know if we were pronouncing it right, but anyhow, that

taught me something about someone with incredible will, that even if you don't know how to do something, it shouldn't stop you. How hard can it be? And so I remember that when I was a kid. I remembered

going to Kentucky in my job. I was the youngest kid in school. And Oneida Baptist Institute is on top of a hill.

school. And Oneida Baptist Institute is on top of a hill.

And every day I had to walk down this hill and cross a river and then cross a really large field. And then

there's a little school there. And that's where I go. And along the way, you know, kids would, you

go. And along the way, you know, kids would, you know, because I was the first Chinese kid to ever show up in Kentucky. It was 1973. And so the town kids were kind

Kentucky. It was 1973. And so the town kids were kind of rough, and they were rough on me when I crossed that bridge. And the hanging bridge had wooden planks, and the

bridge. And the hanging bridge had wooden planks, and the water's way down there. And I got across this, and some of the planks were missing. And they'd be on the other side waiting for me, you know? And I'm nine

years old. Wow. And I did that every day. Pain and suffering. You know,

years old. Wow. And I did that every day. Pain and suffering. You know,

you're nine years old. Here's a river. Here's a hanging bridge.

Wow. Wooden planks. Some of them are missing. On the other side, that's the worst news. You live to make it across the bridge. That's

when you're in trouble. Then you're in trouble. Right. Yeah. But I did that every day, every morning. And then in the afternoons, I come home and my job was to clean the bathrooms. You know, every kid had a job. My older brother, he was 11. His job was to work in the tobacco farm. And that was my job, cleaning the bathrooms.

And I did that every day. Do you think any of those people know where you are now? The president of the Neal Baptist Institute just sent me an email. They send me Christmas presents every year. And they

know I love sausage and gravy and biscuits. You learned that in Kentucky. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh, my gosh. And when I went back, I

Kentucky. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh, my gosh. And when I went back, I think it was my 45th birthday or something like that, my family took me back there. And the cafeteria ladies that cooked when I was there, they're still

back there. And the cafeteria ladies that cooked when I was there, they're still alive, and they came back to cook a meal for me. Wow. Yeah. That's

incredible. It was incredible. Yeah. They made Kentucky sausage and gravy and everything. It was delicious. So did your parents get to

everything. It was delicious. So did your parents get to see your success? Yeah, yeah. They're still around. They're great.

Good, good. Yeah, yeah. They're so proud of you. They are. Yeah,

they are. Okay. Yeah. They know every detail. My dad reads everything.

Okay. He reads everything, and everybody who says things that are somewhat derogatory or adversarial towards me, he gets mad. Yeah.

And so I tell him, "Don't read everything. You're going to be mad all the time." Don't read the bad press. Yeah, you're going to be mad all the

time." Don't read the bad press. Yeah, you're going to be mad all the time. That's cute. Yeah. So what do you miss about sort of life before

time. That's cute. Yeah. So what do you miss about sort of life before all this insanity? So, you know, you were—maybe the mundane things. You're a car guy. You don't even get to drive anymore. No. You were the first and

guy. You don't even get to drive anymore. No. You were the first and only person that I've ever known that owned a—what is it? A Koenigsegg? A

Koenigsegg. A Koenigsegg. Yeah. Christian's an amazing architect. He's an amazing designer.

That's a great car. Yeah. You still have it? When you turn it on, it sounds exactly like a Batmobile. Wow. Yeah. And it's like a seven-step process to turn it on because it's that powerful. You can't just let anybody turn it on. Wow. Yeah. I don't have it anymore. I don't drive anymore. Right.

on. Wow. Yeah. I don't have it anymore. I don't drive anymore. Right.

You miss that? Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of cool. I

mean, I still look at the cars, the new Ferraris, and I still enjoy looking at them. I think they're pretty terrific. Yeah.

Yeah, great feats of engineering. They really are. It's

amazing. I've been to the Ferrari factory and it's amazing to watch. And to learn that what started out as an industrial instrument

watch. And to learn that what started out as an industrial instrument equipment then evolved into our largest consumer consumption.

And then now many of these are pieces of art. you know they are yeah they're incredible yeah so it's great to see that this episode is brought to you by maverick silicon so if uh if we're sitting here five years from now podcast is hugely successful

because of this inaugural podcast what's the world look like in five years from now and what what's going to surprise us the most about what the world looks like so if you if we go back to first principles and And then we gauge it with pragmatism and practicality. And then all

the sensibilities about adoption of technology and the impact of technology. There's several things that I would say. I think first of

of technology. There's several things that I would say. I think first of all, the work that we're involved in and what NVIDIA's work in and artificial intelligence and the rest of industry's work in this area, there's no question that the computer has, well, completely

transformed from something that we program to something that programs itself with a great deal of guidance from us. And so we still had to tell it, you know, what do

us. And so we still had to tell it, you know, what do we want you to go learn? And so in the past, we would teach a computer Japanese. But in the future, we would tell the computer to go learn Japanese. And so now, the

way that we use computers will be transformed, of course. The computer will be able to deal with problem sizes that are a billion times larger than anything we're working on today. In a way, we can't even comprehend what that means because coming up with a solution is one thing. Even formulating a

problem in our head to go solve is a completely different thing. And many

problems, many solvable problems are limited by our own imagination about how to formulate the problem. and how to think about the problem. And so the size of the

problem. and how to think about the problem. And so the size of the problem that we can engage, whether it's the complexities of digital biology or the complexities of physical sciences or quantum physics or all of the things that are material sciences, that's going to be easy. All of the type of things, even mundane things

like traffic jams, a lot of these things are going to be largely easy.

smart grids, there's so much waste in the grid. Artificial

intelligence will go figure out how to deploy energy, just enough energy, and instead of over-provisioning energy, we've got a lot of energy that's wasted. And so the idea of AI being able to solve those what is largely going to be mundane problems is going to be quite

incredible. And so every field of science will be affected, every hard problem today

incredible. And so every field of science will be affected, every hard problem today will be turbocharged. And when the tool, when the instrument, when the tool is way, way faster, then the problem looks way smaller. And so

let me give you an example. If an airplane were to travel Mach 10, then obviously the world becomes a smaller place. And because of jet planes, we made the world smaller. The world used to be a lot bigger. And so

it's the same thing with the computers NVIDIA makes because of what we make is so much faster. We made every problem smaller to the point where one day researchers at OpenAI said, "Hey, why don't we just take all of the internet data and just give it to this computer?" Because all of a sudden, all of the world's internet data looks so small. These days,

when we look at all of the world's internet data, it looks tiny to us because the computers have become so fast. And that attitude will pervade almost every field of science. You know, back in the old days, everybody goes, wow, this is a really hard problem. Now it's going to look really simple. And so in five years' time, that is going to be the

simple. And so in five years' time, that is going to be the state of mind of every scientist in engineer, entrepreneur, innovator, all of those hard problems now just look really simple. And so as a result, we're going to solve more problems. So that's one outcome. Another outcome, of

course, is that companies will be incredibly productive. What is hard problems today, what are hard problems today are going to be simple problems tomorrow. And

so managing our supply chain will be way easier so we have hardly any waste.

designing our computers are going to be way easier. And so we can try more examples. Not that we'll release more computers than we are today.

examples. Not that we'll release more computers than we are today.

We do it once a year. But we'll try more iterations of these examples of computers so that the one that we release every year is so much better.

Let's see. That's one. And so our company will be more productive.

We'll make more profit. Every company will be more profitable.

We'll all be richer. Yeah, we'll be more profitable. One of the manifestations of it, though, as I connect these two ideas, is if every problem that we dream up looks more tenable, then we're going to come up with more problems to solve. And so instead of having fewer

jobs, I actually feel what's likely to happen is that we're going to be busier than ever. And the reason for that is because we're going to think of more and more ideas of things that we can solve now that we didn't used to be able to solve. All those things that were off the table are now on the table. And all of the experiments, it was too

expensive to try. Every experiment should be tried. Or the AI is going to help us go try those experiments. And so to the extent that we have imagination and we have a lot of problems that we were deferring or we couldn't solve before, I think they're all going to be on the table. One

thought experiment is imagining, so today when I'm working, I'm surrounded by 60 geniuses. And they're surrounded by a few thousand geniuses. And in my case, I'm surrounded by 60 people who are all better

geniuses. And in my case, I'm surrounded by 60 people who are all better at what they do than I am. in a lot of ways, they're basically artificial superintelligent relative to me in their field. And yet I've got no trouble working with all of them. And so I think that in the future, and the

AIs that I use now with OpenAI and Gemini and Grok and, you know, I use Perplexity and Anthropic and, you know, all of these AIs, in their way, they're already smarter than I am. And yet I've got no trouble working with them every day. And so that's number one. But what's

really interesting though is that when I formulate problems for my team to go do, I often have the benefit of waiting the two or three or four days for them to go find the answer or formulate the answer back to me. That allows

me to then go think about the next step and then thinking about the next step. Because in order for me to think through my steps, I need intermediate

step. Because in order for me to think through my steps, I need intermediate answers to come back. What if those answers come back basically in a second?

That's the thought experiment. My day, my days would be insanely busy now because I'm now the critical path of everything. And so I've got to go, okay, now I've got the answer of that. Therefore, I've got to think about this.

I've got to kick off another experiment. Now I've got the answer to that.

And so I feel that we're busier today because information technology is faster today, would you say? Yes. We're getting information and knowledge and answers faster.

So fast now it puts us in a critical path therefore. We're busier

than ever I have a feeling that a lot of people are gonna feel that way and then and then lastly for the people that that weren't didn't benefit from the technology industry that you and I had the benefit of being part of all of a sudden artificial intelligence closed that technology divide and

One of my favorite things is just vibe coding. Anybody could be a software programmer now. And vibe coding is creating software that is better than a lot of

programmer now. And vibe coding is creating software that is better than a lot of software programmers. And so I love the work that Cursor does. I

software programmers. And so I love the work that Cursor does. I

met the CEO of Lovable the other day, and he's a terrific guy and a startup in Sweden. And I'm really happy to see that. And so I think that AI is going to close the technology divide and everybody who are really gifted at their craft, but maybe they don't know how to scale themselves with technology, they now have AI to help scale them. And so one of the stories that

the Loveable CEO was telling me is all these companies, all these people are creating basically small businesses. And from the software that was written by Loveable, they're making two, three million dollars a year now. That's incredible. It is. And so

they're welcomed into the world's economy, not burdened by technology anymore because AI made that possible. And so I have a feeling that five years from now, it is likely that we're all going to be more gainfully employed, that the economy is going to be more productive. Hopefully, the

GDP actually grows faster. because of the short, you know, overcoming the shortage, the labor shortage that we have. And inflation will go down.

You know, a lot more fields of sciences are being tackled. Now, of course, there's the Doomer view, the other view, which is, you know, half of the world's jobs will be lost and things like that. I think that it's more likely that 100% of the world's jobs will change.

Then 50% of the world's jobs will be lost right and and it's very likely that a hundred percent of people who don't have jobs today because of AI can make a living and And of course, you know our technology would change a lot then but that's the part that that's less

interesting I think I think you know in five years time to us the computer still a computer the applications are just smarter, but they look like applications and and there's still software.

We're doing e-commerce. Maybe we don't go to websites anymore, but our agents do the shopping for us, but they're still buying it from Amazon and others, right?

And so I think a lot of things will probably stay the same.

And then maybe just one wish list is, you know, I wish that, and I hope that, not wish, but I hope that the work that we're doing with robotics and human robotics, you know, turn into something. And, you know, we all have our own version of R2-D2 and C-3PO's running around. And,

you know, they're cute and adorable. During GTC, at the end, I always have the Disney robots on stage. And how adorable are they? You

know, why shouldn't everybody have them? And, you know, I hope that... that Disney decides to, to merchandise them because, you know,

that... that Disney decides to, to merchandise them because, you know, they're so adorable. They're so incredible. My pets, my pets need pets, right? And so

Momo and Kuma needs their, their own version of pets. And, and

so I, I hope that, that, that happens because there are a lot of lonely people and, and I actually have been approached by several that, that, that hopes to have robots that they can interact with at home because they're living by themselves and they're getting older. And so there are a lot of different reasons why these robots could be quite helpful, not to mention they're just adorable.

And so that's an extra bonus of all the things that we're doing.

Someone to cook and clean, will you watch them cook? Will you enjoy it as much when the robots are cooking? Well, the answer is yes. And the reason for that is because I have all the resources today to not cook, and yet I do. And so I don't have to. I choose to.

And we could be surrounded by all kinds of staff, but we're not. Lori

and I are just by ourselves. And she made chili last night. It was

really terrific. And she made it by herself. And we'll probably continue to do all that. And our favorite moments are, our favorite moments, my single favorite moment is when the kids come over and we're all cooking and you know, enjoying

cocktail and that's the perfect day. Great bonding

in the kitchen that goes on. Yeah, that's as good as it gets. You know, that's what we do all this for, for that

gets. You know, that's what we do all this for, for that moment. That's exactly right. Yeah. So how do you, at the end

moment. That's exactly right. Yeah. So how do you, at the end of the day, how do you want to be remembered? It's all said and done. Well, first of all, it's nice to be remembered. And

and done. Well, first of all, it's nice to be remembered. And

I'm fortunate that because of what NVIDIA has done, and what we've built and the impact that we have in the single most important technology industry in the world, the most important instrument of humanity,

computers, that NVIDIA will likely, long beyond me, be important to the world. And I was fortunate to have been a founder with Chris and Curtis I was fortunate to have stayed on top of the pile, you know, and continue to

learn and not be the reason the company went out of business, but oftentimes the reason the company stayed in business. That I built something that is quite consequential to the world, that it wasn't just consequential to an industry or to a community, but

a company that's really genuinely consequential to the world.

Not many people in the world get to say that. Right. You know, that I was the founder and I'm here enjoying this and doing this, that the company turned out to have been what it was, what it is. And to have the impact on so many other industries, literally every single industry

in the world, to have employees that have been here for 33 years and their lives enriched, second generation and even third generation employees are now starting to work here that we're able to to grow an employee base

you know around the world that they're there in Israel and and and and be able to to to share with them you know their desperation and then now their joy and their hope and and and to share with them their sorrows and not many people get

to say they Not many get to experience that and to be part of that. And then build an employee base all over the world. In

of that. And then build an employee base all over the world. In

China, I'm proud of them. Our employees in Taiwan, I'm deeply proud of them. And all of our employees in India, I'm so proud of them.

them. And all of our employees in India, I'm so proud of them.

And our European employees. And so, Canadian employees.

We're growing a large Canadian base. And one of these days, I'm hoping that NVIDIA gets to extend ourselves into the global south, the rest of the world that wants to be part of what we all enjoy today. I was just talking to somebody yesterday about

the work that we're doing in Africa and the work that we should be doing more in Latin America and Southeast Asia. I'm so proud of the impact that our company has. And so how do people remember me? They'll probably remember me as

me? They'll probably remember me as a founder and builder of NVIDIA. That's

probably-- And a good guy. Well, that goes without saying. Funny guy. He has a great

without saying. Funny guy. He has a great sense of humor, and he doesn't take himself too seriously. And in a lot of ways, I'm still

too seriously. And in a lot of ways, I'm still a reluctant CEO. I like being inside the company more than I like being outside the company. I

like not giving speeches than giving speeches. And I like not giving keynotes at all. And yet, I have to do it. And so I'm a highly reluctant CEO. But I'm a very enthusiastic NVIDIA builder,

reluctant CEO. But I'm a very enthusiastic NVIDIA builder, and any aspect of my job that is necessary to do that, I'll do. And so that's a long-winded answer for I

do. And so that's a long-winded answer for I have no idea what people remember me as. Well, I think it's always fun when the good guys win, so... I love watching your success. I've loved it all of these years. It's been fun to

your success. I've loved it all of these years. It's been fun to watch all the ups and downs. You've seen every one. You've seen

absolutely every one. And just as a reminder to all the CEOs, nobody does it alone. We are the CEO, but somebody has to be.

And if not for the generosity, really, your generosity, early days, talking about NVIDIA and all of those Morris Chang Awards didn't hurt. The Morris Chang Award was probably the first award I ever received that meant

something. Wow, that's very cool. I love that.

something. Wow, that's very cool. I love that.

That was in somebody else's name and that he actually played a role in selecting.

And that meant a lot to me. It means a lot to me today. And the generosity of all the

me today. And the generosity of all the companies that we work with. CEOs need help, and I have no idea how many times I've started conversations with them, "I need your help." And oftentimes, "I really need

your help, and you're really the only person who can help me." And people have been generous and gracious to help me along the way, share with me their knowledge and teach me how to do things and help me get things done. That's maybe the real life lesson of CEOs. It's

things done. That's maybe the real life lesson of CEOs. It's

surprisingly a vulnerable. Yeah. A lonely position too, right? Yeah, it

can be. It can be. Yeah, it can be. But Jodi, I would say it's probably lonely in our heads. In our head, it's lonely. In our headspace, it's lonely because you're trying to solve a problem that sometimes are kind of tricky and you're talking to yourself. And for a long

period of time. Right. So many, many, many challenges. Almost every transition in our company, every phase shift, every time I reinvent the company, I've spoken to myself probably I don't know how many thousands of hours. Right. And in that time, you're quite lonely. But we also have to recognize that everybody wants

to help us. They want us to succeed. And like you said earlier, you like watching me succeed. I know you want me to succeed, and I want you to succeed. And so in a lot of ways, we're not alone that way.

to succeed. And so in a lot of ways, we're not alone that way.

And so CEOs are a surprisingly vulnerable skill or profession. You

can't do anything alone. And so you're at the mercy of almost everybody. You're the charity of everybody.

everybody. You're the charity of everybody.

And maybe the world makes it look like we're formidable leaders, but we're the most vulnerable of all the people in the company. And I often say, I'm the only person in the company who can't get anything done without other

people's help. And I think that's true for most CEOs. And

people's help. And I think that's true for most CEOs. And

so that's the learning maybe that CEOs are-- more vulnerable than they allow themselves to feel. But I got no trouble with that. I've got

no trouble feeling vulnerable. This episode is brought to you by Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley celebrated its 90th anniversary last year, and

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years, Morgan Stanley's tech investment banking team success has been achieved by dedication, consistency, and a North Star purpose of helping its clients to maximize their opportunities and overcome their challenges. Now, let's get back to the episode. Okay,

so I'm about to wear out my welcome, I think. I've been here a long while. Why are people... You know, they've been taught to not do that. No,

long while. Why are people... You know, they've been taught to not do that. No,

no, no. No one has. I'm just kidding. So... We're going to end on some rapid-fire questions that I call "the last tape out." Wow, okay.

Don't tell me when my last tape out is. See, now I'm holding myself because this is the part I don't like. Okay, go. Who's the smartest person you've ever met? Who's the smartest person I've ever met? I

can't answer that question. And I know what people are thinking.

The definition of smart is somebody who's intelligent, solve problems, technical. But

I find that that's a commodity. And we're about to prove that artificial intelligence is able to handle that part easiest. Right. Yeah. And so as it turns out, let me give you another example. Everybody thought

software programming is the ultimate smart profession. Look what is the first thing that AI is solving, software programming.

And so it turns out that the definition of smart is very different than most people think. And I think long term, the

think. And I think long term, the definition of smart and my personal definition of smart is someone who sits at that intersection of being

technically astute, but human empathy and and understand and having the ability to infer the unspoken the around the corners and the unknowables you know people who are able to see around corners

are are truly truly smart and and and that their value is incredible to be able to preempt Preempt problems before they show up just because you feel the vibe and And the vibe came from a combination of data, analysis,

first principle, life experience, wisdom, sensing other people. That vibe, that I think, that's smart. That I

other people. That vibe, that I think, that's smart. That I

think is going to be the future definition of smart. And that person might actually score horribly on the

smart. And that person might actually score horribly on the SAT. Right. And so anyhow. OK. OK. What's a misconception

SAT. Right. And so anyhow. OK. OK. What's a misconception people have about you?

These are hard questions. First of all, I don't know what they're, what's their, give me an example of a conception they have of me. That you love to be in the public eye, that you're a great, you know, you're a great speaker. So you love to give speeches and you already said that that's not

great speaker. So you love to give speeches and you already said that that's not true. Yeah, that is not true. Right. That is in fact exactly the opposite of

true. Yeah, that is not true. Right. That is in fact exactly the opposite of what I love. Public speaking scares the living daylights out of me. And it

scares me not at the moment. It's right now I am, I am in, deep anxiety over GTC Washington DC coming up it's two weeks away less than two weeks away and I am deeply anxious I've been deeply anxious for a week excuse me a month and so so these things these things

wear on me they're always in my mind and and they stress me out so I don't know how to explain it okay yeah if you were companies meetings scare me to death yes scare me to death because I'm on stage and they're the most important people in the

world to me. It is the single most important speech that I give in a lot of ways, but it's impossible to prepare for it. And

everything I can tell them on a presentation I've already said on some video somewhere, they ought to just go watch that.

And so I hate to regurgitate talks to them. because you would never do that to your family. You would never come home and give your GTC talk to your family. And I hate doing that. And so it has to be genuine. It has to be unique. It has to be useful. It has to be

genuine. It has to be unique. It has to be useful. It has to be meaningful to them. It has to make a difference. I'm still leading the company.

There's still an outcome that I'm looking for. And so you've got to do all of that, and you've got to do it fresh. And so I have no idea how it's going to turn out until it turns out. And so the entire time, during earnings week, people think that the earnings is stressful to me. Not even a little bit. The company meeting stresses me

out. So the conception is exactly wrong. Right, right. Yeah. That's

out. So the conception is exactly wrong. Right, right. Yeah. That's

good. OK, what is your favorite vacation spot? Wherever my

family is and wherever we're cooking, having cocktail. OK. But if I had to name two places, one place or two, it's hard for me.

But I can tell it's my favorite vacation spot because I know I'm happy landing. I'm always happy landing in Hawaii. OK. And

because we're typically together. I'm really happy when we land in Taiwan. And the reason for that is because the people are great. I've got

Taiwan. And the reason for that is because the people are great. I've got

really important partners there and long-term friendships there. And my family is oftentimes with me.

there. And my family is oftentimes with me.

I'm genuinely happy when I land in Japan. And the reason for that is because I have very long memories of Japan and how important it was to saving our company and the early business trips that I've been there. Even though business-wise, largely unproductive

there. Even though business-wise, largely unproductive over the years, I still somehow have great joy landing there. And so maybe those are kind of three places. And my family's oftentimes with me when I'm landing. Okay. That's good. Yeah. Pet peeve. People who don't listen to my

landing. Okay. That's good. Yeah. Pet peeve. People who don't listen to my question, understand my question, answer my question during important times. Okay. When we're dealing with very hard situation, very difficult

times. Okay. When we're dealing with very hard situation, very difficult times, and we need facts, we need facts. And I ask a question like that, if somebody doesn't answer it, it triggers me almost instantaneously.

And the reason for that is because I don't understand why the person underappreciates the context of this meeting, that we're doing something really important and that we're trying to get to the truth and we're trying to get that we need to get there fast. I just don't understand. I never understand. And

I don't understand to this day. And somehow it always triggers me.

And if somebody wants to trigger me, that's the way to do it.

That's the way to do it. Yeah. Now we have a trick to making Jensen mad. Okay. One last question that someone asked me recently,

Jensen mad. Okay. One last question that someone asked me recently, and I love this question. It's if you, if you had to be 20 years old all over again, would you do it today or would you relive in our day? I would relive it in our day. And the reason for

our day? I would relive it in our day. And the reason for that is because I thought that our 20s was happier than these 20s. And,

and, um, I think everyone deserves some time to be oblivious and not to wear all of the world's problems on their shoulder on day one. I

just don't think it's necessary. Nobody can

convince me of it otherwise. That there's some joy in ignorance and there's a superpower in ignorance.

NVIDIA, it would not be power, would not be, would not be power, would not be possible today if not for the fact that I was ignorant to the fact that it's impossible to build NVIDIA. Right, right.

In fact, it's impossible to build NVIDIA. You can't build NVIDIA. You

just can't. But nobody can convince me otherwise because I didn't know any better. And I think that optimistic people, you can't convince them that they can't make it better.

They're so ignorant. They're so oblivious to the truth that they are optimistic. How is that a bad thing? And I feel that we're raising a generation of very cynical, too informed. They're cynical

not because they're inherently cynical. They're cynical

because they just see so much stuff. It's too much stuff. There's

time for that. You know, we have to build up some internal reserve of optimism. We have to build up some internal reserve of goodness that you see only the good. You have to find a way to build up that muscle. Yeah. We had the opportunity to do that way

more than people do today. Yeah. And we did that in our 20s when we're optimistic. We're superhuman and everything was possible, you know. And so

optimistic. We're superhuman and everything was possible, you know. And so

that... I would choose my early 20s. Okay. Good note

to end on, ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is

bliss. And ignorance is a superpower. And anybody who tackles a new adventure, if not for ignorance, they would think it's too hard to even engage it. And I'm...

really, really quite fortunate to have been so informed. I was informed and hardworking. You know, I had some capabilities, but the

hardworking. You know, I had some capabilities, but the ignorance was helpful to me. And I approached everything with this attitude, how hard can it be? Now, it turns out it's really hard.

You have no idea. Yeah. Right? Look at what you built. And if you would have known everything then that you know now, and all the feelings and all the setbacks and all the disappointments, and you bottle all of that up and you put it all in one place, you would never do it, you know?

And I would never do it. And so I think the ignorance was a superpower. And then the other thing that's a superpower is having no endgame.

superpower. And then the other thing that's a superpower is having no endgame.

Mm-hmm. Nvidia has no endgame people ask me Jensen. What's your

plan? We don't have one staying in business is our plan You know, we have we have future dreams of the world and we imagine how technology would be different but staying in business is a hundred percent the plan and and somebody asked me once and I get asked all the time I guess and Jensen, what are your what are your what are your goals life goals and

I don't have any, you know, just working, staying employed, being able to do good work surrounded by amazing people. That's the goal. And

so in a lot of ways, you know, having no end game has been really helpful to NVIDIA. Okay. Yeah. So anyways,

that's my end game point for the end of the show. I love

it. Thanks for being my first guest. This was super fun.

Thank you. This was terrific. Great to see you. Great to

hang out with you. Yeah, you too.