For over 30 years, Jensen Huang (pronounced: Jen-sun Hwang) has been at the helm of the same company. He transformed NVIDIA from a startup that merely produced graphics cards into a tech giant that now serves as the beating heart of artificial intelligence. Under his leadership, NVIDIA became one of the most valuable companies in the world and helped shape the infrastructure of the AI era.
Jensen Huang was born in Taiwan in 1963. His family later moved to the United States, where he spent his childhood in the state of Oregon. An ironic fact: for a while, he studied at a boxing school. This experience strengthened his patience, resilience, and competitive spirit. He later earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
The founding of NVIDIA was not entirely accidental, but it didn’t look particularly promising either. In 1993, Huang and two of his friends decided to start the company at a restaurant table. Their initial goal was to develop more powerful graphic processors for video games. In the early years, Jensen Huang worked without a salary and devoted all resources to product development. They had no office; they bought their whiteboards from local stores.
Over time, NVIDIA’s graphic processors (GPUs) started to play a revolutionary role not just in gaming but in everything from scientific research to training AI models. Giants like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Microsoft trained ChatGPT and other AI models using NVIDIA’s chips.
“If you are not working with AI, AI will work with you,” — this quote by Jensen Huang reflects his technological vision.
With the CUDA programming platform, NVIDIA enabled thousands of developers to work more efficiently with GPUs and helped create hundreds of new fields.
One of Jensen Huang’s greatest accomplishments is making technology more inclusive. Artificial intelligence is not just about technology—it brings value to people across various fields such as medicine, energy, ecology, and the automotive industry. For example:
- diseases are now diagnosed more quickly with the help of AI.
- the market for chips in autonomous vehicles is led by NVIDIA.
- Elon Musk’s Tesla has also collaborated with NVIDIA.
Leadership and personal philosophy
Jensen Huang is always open to learning and possesses a flexible mindset. His leadership style is exemplary: empathy, attention to detail, and strategic vision are the secrets behind his success. Tech leaders like Elon Musk and Sam Altman hold him in high regard.
“I have taken risks my whole life. Risk is a part of life. But if the goal is meaningful, every risk is worth it.” – Jensen Huang
Current achievements
In 2024, NVIDIA became one of the world’s most valuable tech companies, surpassing a market value of $3 trillion in a short time. Huang still actively participates in daily operations, works directly with engineers, and strives to bring technology even closer to people.
