Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote speech ahead of Computex 2024 in Taipei on June 2, 2024.
Sam Yeh AFP Getty Images
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday that the company’s advantage in artificial intelligence chips is due to a bet made more than 10 years ago, focusing on investing billions of dollars in AI and a team of thousands of engineers.
Huang’s comments came during the Q&A period of Nvidia’s first shareholder meeting since the company’s stock began rising, following heightened Wall Street interest in the company’s dominant position in the AI ​​chip market.
Since last year’s meeting, the company has made history: Nvidia shares rose 193%, the stock split 10-1, the company passed the $3 trillion valuation and quickly reached the status of the most valuable company in the US.
The first question Huang answered on Wednesday was about the company’s competition, as traditional chipmakers and startups alike release products intended to challenge Nvidia’s more than 80% market share in AI chips.
Nvidia shares fell more than 1% in trading on Friday.
Without naming competitors, Huang outlined the company’s overall strategy to maintain its position, with the idea that Nvidia has “transformed” into a data center-focused company from its previous gaming focus. The company also wants to create new markets for AI, such as in industrial robotics, and aims to cooperate with every computer manufacturer and cloud provider.
Huang said the AI ​​chip provides the “lowest cost of ownership,” suggesting that while other chips may be cheaper, Nvidia is more economical in terms of performance and cost to run.
Ultimately, Huang says Nvidia has achieved a “virtuous circle,” a term in the tech industry that refers to when a platform has the most users, which allows it to make the improvements needed to attract more users.
“The NVIDIA platform is available on every major cloud provider and computer maker, creating a large and attractive install base for developers and customers, which makes our platform even more valuable to our customers,” Huang said.
Nvidia shareholders were pleased with the company’s performance and approved a nonbinding vote on executive compensation called “talk about pay.” Nvidia executives are paid a combination of salary and various restricted stock units.
Huang received a compensation package of about $34 million during the company’s 2024 fiscal year, a 60% increase from 2023, according to the company’s annual filing.
