Investor Profile | Huang Renxun: I have experienced three failures
At NVIDIA, I experienced failure, great failure, all of which was shameful and embarrassing, almost leading us to destruction.
This article is compiled from Daily Economic News, Jiemian, Securities Times, etc.
In May last year, Jensen Huang gave a speech at National Taiwan University.
Every industry will be revolutionized by AI
In his speech, Jensen Huang revealed his latest views on the future of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and shared three key turning points in NVIDIA's development history. He referred to these stories as crucial in shaping NVIDIA's journey from a three-person startup in gaming graphics chips to a global AI leader worth nearly a trillion dollars over the past thirty years. He encouraged graduates to learn from their mistakes, persevere, and adapt to change.
Jensen Huang pointed out that everyone is about to enter a world of tremendous change, just like the personal computer and chip revolution. We are currently at the starting line of AI, and every industry will be revolutionized. AI brings enormous opportunities for everyone, and agile companies will leverage AI technology to enhance their competitiveness. On the other hand, companies that fail to utilize AI will face decline.
Jensen Huang stated that AI will transform every job and significantly improve the performance of engineers, designers, artists, and others. He predicted that every company and individual must learn to harness AI, despite concerns that AI may take away jobs. We are currently at the beginning of the AI era, and AI will fundamentally reshape computers. It is a rebirth of the computer technology industry and a golden opportunity for semiconductor manufacturers. "Please use artificial intelligence to accomplish unimaginable and incredible things."
Some people worry that AI may take away job opportunities or develop self-will. In response, Jensen Huang said, "We are at the beginning of a new field, just like the personal computer, the internet, mobile devices, and cloud technology. However, the impact of AI is more fundamental, rewriting every level of computation. It changes the way we write and execute software. In every aspect, it is a rebirth opportunity for the computer industry and a golden opportunity for businesses. You are the important cornerstone of this industry."
Jensen Huang: I have experienced three failures
In his speech, Jensen Huang mentioned three "failure stories" from NVIDIA's early days, where the company stumbled and almost went bankrupt. He said, "At NVIDIA, I experienced failures, great failures that were embarrassing and awkward, almost leading us to extinction."
In his speech, Jensen Huang shared three "failure stories" from NVIDIA's early days: The first story is about how NVIDIA's 3D graphics chips, originally invented for computer games, were initially developed in collaboration with Sega, a major Japanese game company at the time, in order to reduce costs. However, after a year of development, Huang Renxun realized that the industry was rapidly changing. Microsoft had developed the Direct3D graphics interface for Windows 95, which deviated from the mainstream market that NVIDIA and Sega were jointly developing for. Huang Renxun had to contact Sega's CEO to explain this difficult situation, but still demanded that Sega pay according to the contract.
If Sega were to withdraw from the collaboration without payment, NVIDIA would face the fate of bankruptcy. Fortunately, Sega agreed to pay, giving NVIDIA a few months of breathing room and the opportunity to create the RIVA 128 chip, which turned the company's fortunes around. "What surprised me was that Sega agreed, and because of their generosity, we were able to survive for another six months," Huang Renxun said. It was because NVIDIA faced its mistakes, cut its losses in a timely manner, and humbly sought help that it survived the crisis of bankruptcy.
The second story is about CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), which is the key to NVIDIA's current market value peak. CUDA is both a parallel computing platform and a programming model that includes a range of development tools. All of NVIDIA's GPUs support CUDA. This means that anyone, from students to scientists, can develop software using a laptop equipped with a GPU.
In 2007, Huang Renxun decided to integrate CUDA into all of the company's GPUs, enabling them to process not only 3D graphics but also data. However, this was an expensive long-term investment that faced a lot of criticism, and it wasn't until several years later when these chips started being used for machine learning that they began to pay off. "Our market value just exceeded one billion dollars," Huang Renxun recalled. "We went through years of weak performance, and shareholders doubted CUDA and hoped that we could improve profitability."
Therefore, NVIDIA had to prove the market demand for CUDA and continuously demonstrate the benefits of developing CUDA. It wasn't until 2014 when a scholar used CUDA for AI computing, ushering in the era of artificial intelligence, that CUDA was able to successfully enter the market. "Fortunately, we also discovered the potential of artificial intelligence. Years later, when the AI revolution broke out, NVIDIA became the engine."
Huang Renxun believes that it is precisely because of the past hardships that NVIDIA's persistence has paid off. "We invented CUDA for AI, and this journey has shaped our character, enduring pain and suffering, which are the necessary pains on the path to pursuing our vision."
The third story is about NVIDIA's failure in the mobile market. In 2010, NVIDIA decided to enter the mobile phone market, which was booming at the time. It was clear that the demand for graphics computing would rapidly increase. However, NVIDIA's vision did not materialize as expected. Competitors flooded into the market, learning how to manufacture mobile computing chips, while NVIDIA was still learning how to develop baseband chips. Although NVIDIA's market share continued to grow, the level of market competition suddenly intensified. "We have made a difficult decision to give up this market. Because NVIDIA's mission is to create computers that can solve problems that ordinary computers cannot solve, we should focus on this vision and make our unique contribution." Huang Renxun said.
NVIDIA aims for a market value of 2 trillion US dollars
The global AI market is booming, and NVIDIA's stock price and performance are rising steadily. Currently, its market value is close to 1.5 trillion US dollars, aiming for 2 trillion.
