The Rise and Rise and… Rise of NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang

While Elon Musk might have no problem ruffling feathers, another tech billionaire, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang seems to be gaining a cult-like following for his more pragmatic approach to multi-modal disruption and media relations.

His GPU company is like the modern equivalent of selling spades at a goldmine. Not only for gaming but also for Crypto mining and now AI computing. It’s almost like building a gold mining supply store before realising that there was a goldmine and then having two more pop up.

Huang’s big GTC 2024 Keynote added a whole lot more fuel to the NVIDIA hype and its share price when Huang unveiled NVIDIA’s move into supercomputing with the unveiling of Blackwell, labelled as the “world’s most powerful chip.” This chip, according to Huang, is set to catapult us not just to the next level but into an entirely new game, promising a seismic shift in AI’s capabilities.

But what’s a colossal chip without an army to wield it? Huang paraded a veritable who’s who of tech titans, with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google all lined up to unleash the might of Blackwell.
And if that wasn’t enough, Huang pulled another rabbit out of his silicon hat with the Omniverse feat Apple’s VisionPro. Merging virtual reality with Nvidia’s computing wizardry, promising a digital experience so immersive, you’d apparently be forgiven for doubting your own reality.

Moving into the more tangible, Huang then shared his vision of a future occupied by his AI-powered humanoid robotics with Project GR00T and Jetson Thor. It’s one thing to create chips that power devices, but quite another to breathe life into robots that could potentially walk, talk, and think like us.

Among the technological fireworks, Huang also shared a vision for next-generation data centres, conceived as “AI factories.” This concept suggests a shift towards data centres that do more than store information, aiming instead to be hubs of intelligence generation.

The announcement of a 6G research platform was another forward-looking moment in Huang’s keynote. With 6G, Nvidia seems to be eyeing the future of hyper-connectivity, where trillions of devices could potentially communicate seamlessly.

Nvidia’s strategy isn’t just about pushing out high-performance chips. The company is also weaving a range of partnerships with major players like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. These collaborations signal a collective push towards integrating advanced AI capabilities into various infrastructures, promising to amplify the reach and impact of Nvidia’s technological advancements.
Huang’s presentation took a turn into the realm of virtual reality with the integration of Nvidia’s Omniverse with Apple’s VisionPro headset. This collaboration aims to blend virtual realities with advanced computing, hinting at new possibilities for immersive digital experiences that could extend beyond entertainment into creative and collaborative spaces.

The keynote also ventured into the territory of AI-powered humanoid robotics with the introduction of Project GR00T and Jetson Thor. This move into robotics suggests Nvidia’s interest in exploring the potential for robots that can interact in human-like ways, from understanding language to mimicking movements thanks to the introduction of the Isaac manipulator, equipped with CUDA-accelerated motion planning and advanced perception for 3D object pose estimation.

Huang also shared a vision for next-generation data centres, conceived as “AI factories.” This concept suggests a shift towards data centres that do more than store information, aiming instead to be hubs of intelligence generation. However, realizing this vision will likely require significant advancements and investment in infrastructure and technology.

The announcement of a 6G research platform was another forward-looking moment in Huang’s keynote. With 6G, Nvidia seems to be eyeing the future of hyper-connectivity, where trillions of devices could potentially communicate seamlessly. While intriguing, the practical realization of such a network is still on the horizon, with many technological and logistical hurdles to overcome.
The ambitions laid out by Huang are audacious, to say the least, and of course, the path from vision to reality is often fraught with challenges but then again, as Huang mentioned at a recent Stanford interview, his first job was cleaning toilets at a Denny’s restaurant so he’s probably not one to bet against.

Shop the Look: Jensen Huang

Nvidia is currently worth over 2 trillion dollars. When choosing a uniform Turtlenecks just aren’t going to cut it. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has hung his entire aesthetic on black leather jackets which has instantly set him apart from all the grey t-shirts and hoodies of silicon valley. We have collected everything you need to pass as Huang at a casual glance.

1. Tom Ford Lizard embossed leather biker jacket NZ$15,968 2. NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 exascale computer 3. Vincio Black Full Grain Leather Belt With Gator Print NZ$99 trendhim.co.nz 4. DIESEL D-Strukt Slim Fit Black Stretch Denim Jeans 5. 2024 Mercedes-Benz S Class RRP$117,300. 6. Koio Capri Regenerative in Onyx NZ$345.