Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is greeted like a rock star in his birthplace of Taiwan as the charismatic founder says his company’s breakthrough AI chip will allow ANYONE to become a programmer – just by TALKING to the computer
The founder and CEO of a trillion-dollar tech company has unveiled a new AI platform that he says will allow anyone to become a computer programmer, just by talking to their software.
Jensen Huang, the 60-year-old chief of chipmaker Nvidia, is only the second US CEO after Jeff Bezos to lead a trillion-dollar company they co-founded.
Nvidia shares have been on a tear, rising on stellar sales projections from a boom in AI workloads and components.
Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT on November 30, Nvidia’s value has grown from around $420 billion to its current level.
On Monday, Huang, who is Taiwanese-American, received a rousing welcome at the Computex forum in Taipei, where he was mobbed by people wanting selfies and followed by camera crews wherever he went.
Jenson Huang, 60, is pictured in his trademark leather jacket on Monday, speaking at the Computex forum in Taipei
Addressing the annual gathering, Huang talked about a new AI supercomputer platform called DGX GH200, aimed at creating generative AI models – a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce content, including text, images, audio and synthetic data.
Huang said that would make programming open to everyone.
“AI is an incredible computer that is very easy to program,” he said.
“You can speak any language you want, you can even draw pictures. I just turned everyone into a programmer.
He celebrated the end of what he called the “digital divide”.
“The programming barrier is incredibly low. We have bridged the digital divide. Everyone is a programmer now – just say something to the computer,” he said.
“In every computer era, you could do different things that weren’t possible before, and artificial intelligence certainly qualifies.”
“The rate of progression, because it’s so easy to use, is why it’s growing so quickly,” he noted.
“It’s going to affect literally every industry.”
Huang’s image was used to promote the annual event, and he was mobbed by fans on Monday
The 60-year-old was passionate about the potential of artificial intelligence, saying it would end the ‘digital divide’
Nvidia was founded in Santa Clara, California in 1993 and is now valued at $1 trillion.
Huang’s wealth exploded amid an explosion of interest in AI, rising by more than $6 billion to a record $34 billion.
Huang was born in Taiwan but moved to the United States as a child, earning engineering degrees at Oregon State University and Stanford University.
He co-founded the company in 1993 and still leads it as CEO.
On Tuesday, Huang addressed a panel discussion and said AI is full of potential and pitfalls.
“We have to be very serious about AI security,” he said, according to Bloomberg.
“At the end of the day, AI is a product or a service. All products and services must be regulated and must be safe.
He highlighted the huge potential of AI in drug discovery and understanding climate change.
