HAS NvidiaObtain a CEO covering Jensen Huang is a rite of passage.
The CEO confirmed it in interviews Before. But the author Stephen Witt can now talk about experience. Witt is the author of “The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the most coveted micropuce in the world”. The book recounts the life and career of the CEO, and the historical rise of Nvidia of a background player to the star of AI revolution.
Witt describes a lot of cries throughout the story of Nvidia.
The culture of the company is demanding. Huang prefers to choose the work of the team during major meetings so that the whole group can learn. Witt’s book explores not only what the Nvidians have done, but how they think, or rather do not think of what their inventions will bring to the greatest scheme in world history.
“The Thinking Machine” by Stephen Witt, in a bookstore in Taipei, Taiwan, was published for the first time in Asia, followed by the United States this month. Robert Smith
In the final scene of the book, which is already available in Asia and published in the United States on April 8, Witt interviewed Huang in a room covered with white paintings detailing the past and the future of Nvidia. Huang was visibly tired, having just finished the company Annual conference without stopping In 2024. After a series of short and Curt responses, Witt played a clip by the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke from 1964 by thinking that the machines will one day think more quickly than humans, and Huang has completely changed.
Witt wrote that he felt like he had struck a “tripwire”. Huang did not want to speak of jobs destroying AI, to do the interview or to cooperate with the book.
Witt told Business Insider that day, and why Huang sees himself differently from other technological titans like Tesla‘S Elon Musk and OPENAISam Altman. Nvidia refused to comment.
This Q&R was published for more clarity and length.
At the end of the book, Huang mentions Elon Musk and the difference between them. You asked him to fight the future he builds. And he said: “I have the impression of interviewing Elon at the moment, and not me.” What does that mean?
I think what Jensen says is that Elon is a guy in science fiction. Almost everything he does start with a vision or a concept of science fiction of the future, then he works back on the technology he will have to put in the air.
In the most concrete example, Elon wants to stand on the surface of Mars. It is a kind of vision of science fiction. Working behind, what should he do today to get there?
Jensen is exactly the opposite. Honestly, his only ambition is that Nvidia remains in business. And so he will take everything in front of him at the moment and build himself in as far as he can see the first principles and logic. But he has no science fiction visions, and he hates science fiction. That’s really why he shouted on me. He never read a single book Arthur C. Clarke – He said it.
He meets Elon Musk, Sam Altman and other entrepreneurs in the middle. They come from this bright future acted. Jensen is like: “I’m just going to build the material these guys need and see where it’s okay”. Look at Sam Altman’s blog articles over the next five stages of AI. It’s really convincing. Jensen does not produce documents like that, and he refuses.
Thus, for example, last month, Musk had live broadcasting Tesla all hands where he talked about the theory of abundance that could be carried out by AI.
Exactly. Jensen is not going to do that. He simply does not speculate on the future in this way. Now he likes the reasons to advance what the future will look like, but he does not kiss science fiction visions. Jensen is a complicated guy, and I still don’t know why he shouted on me.
It’s hard to believe, but I guarantee you that it is true. He hates speaking in public, he hates being interviewed and he hates to present on stage. He doesn’t just say that. In fact – which is weird, because it is super good in this area – hates it, and it becomes nervous when it has to do it. And then now that GTC has become This kind of atmosphere really stresses it.
Stephen Witt is the author of two books, including “The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the most coveted micropuce in the world” Stephen Witt
Earlier in the book, Huang told you casually that he hoped to die before the book was released. The comment made me think about who could succeed Huang, 62 years old. Have you encountered concrete conversations on a succession plan?
He cannot do it forever, but he is in great shape. It is an energy package. He simply bounces. For the next 10 years, at least it will be Jensen.
I asked them and they said they had no succession plan. Jensen said: “I don’t have a successor.”
The painting of Jensen organizations is him, then 60 people directly below him. I say that in the book, he has no second order. I know that the council asked this question. They did not give me names.
You describe in the book how you were a player and that you used Nvidia graphics cards until you stop playing without worry, you were addicted. Nvidia has just fallen from your radar for 10 to 15 years, years after that? How did you end up writing this book?
It is an interesting story. I should have put this in the book. I bought NVIDIA shares in the early 2000s, then I sold it by frustration when it increased.
I essentially reflected (co -founder of Nvidia) Curtis Priem Experience and sold in 2005 or 2006 – which looked like a big business for seven years because it returned. I said to myself: “Oh, thank God, I sold that”, because it dropped 90% after that.
I have probably broken or lost a small sum of money. I have worked in finance and one of the counter-intuitive things that people do not understand about finance is the best thing you can do for your wallet is to sell your least efficient stock because you get tax advantages.
So I was aware of this kind of costly cost error, and it looked like a major job. Then I didn’t pay any attention to the company for 17 years. It was only when Chatgpt happened that I even pay attention to what they are coming back. And I said to myself, wait-What’s going on with Nvidia? Why is this game business so much? I started doing research and I realized that these guys had a monopoly at the back of the AI.
I said to myself: “Oh, I’m just going to take Jensen and present it to New Yorker “. Honestly, I thought the story would be relatively boring. I was shocked by what an interesting person is Jensen. I thought with certainty when I saw the stock for the first time, they had to have a new CEO doing something interesting.
To my surprise, I learned that Jensen was still in charge of the company and in fact, at that time, was the CEO of the oldest technology in the S&P 500.
I was like, is it the same guy? Do the same? And then Jensen was so much more convincing towards a character than ever.