Nvidia - Jensen Huang

Crucible Moments is a podcast series about the inflection points that shaped some of the most important companies of our time.

The AI revolution has been the biggest story in technology over the last year, as the stuff of science fiction turned into reality seemingly overnight. At the center of it all is Nvidia, a company that until a few years ago was known mostly for video game graphics. A full decade before ChatGPT launched, Nvidia began mobilizing to power the computing potential of AI. Nvidia’s pivot toward AI computing is one of the boldest business pivots in history. Hear the whole story directly from founder and CEO Jensen Huang, along with longtime board member Mark Stevens and AI luminary Andrew Ng.

Episode Transcript

JENSEN HUANG / NVIDIA

“This was a giant pivot for our company. We’re adding cost, we’re adding people, we have to learn new skills. It took our attention away from our normal day-to-day competition in computer graphics and

https://arc-us.s3.amazonaws.com/audio/Episodes/nvidia/CM8+Pivot+in+a+new+direction.mp3

Behind the episode

THE PEOPLE

JENSEN HUANG

Jensen Huang cofounded Nvidia in 1993 and has since served as the company’s president, chief executive officer, and member of the board of directors.

Chris Malachowsky

Chris Malachowsky is the cofounder of Nvidia and its Senior Vice President and Fellow. Beyond his technical accomplishments, Malachowsky also received an Emmy for the film “Inheritance,” which won Best Documentary in 2009.

Andrew Ng

Andrew Ng is a Stanford University computer scientist and former director of Google Brain, whose research was critical to validating Nvidia’s pivot into the field of AI. He is the managing partner of AI Funds and leads both DeepLearning.AI and Landing AI.

Mark A. Stevens

Mark Stevens was the Sequoia partner who joined Nvidia’s board in 1993. He has since left Sequoia, but remains on Nvidia’s board. Presently he is the Managing Partner of S-Cubed Capital, his family office.