Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says those without AI expertise will be left behind

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gives commencement speech at National Taiwan University in Taipei on May 27. Photographer: Vlad Savov/Bloomberg

Firms and individuals should familiarize themselves with artificial intelligence or risk losing out, according to Nvidia Corp. co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang.

Huang, whose chip design company reached an all-time high Friday fueled by huge demand from AI service providers, gave a commencement address on Saturday saying the new technology will transform the corporate landscape and change every single job.

“Agile companies will take advantage of AI and boost their position. Companies less so will perish,” the CEO told graduating students at the National Taiwan University in Taipei. “While some worry that AI may take their jobs, someone who’s expert with AI will.”

The technology, thrust into the popular consciousness by OpenAI’s ChatGPT late last year, will be used as a copilot to supercharge the performance of workers across a wide range of industries, while also creating new jobs that never existed and making some others obsolete, Huang said.

Nvidia’s processors are the gold standard for training AI models such as the one underpinning ChatGPT. The Santa Clara, California-based company has been the primary beneficiary of the race to offer rivals to OpenAI’s technology. Huang, unlike other prominent figures in the global AI ecosystem, such as Alphabet Inc.’s Sundar Pichai, Baidu Inc.’s Robin Li and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, did not offer any note of caution.

Huang told the students to create something new in the AI age fast, or risk getting left behind.

“In 40 years, we created the PC, Internet, mobile, cloud, and now the AI era. What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it like we did. Run, don’t walk,” he said. “Either you are running for food, or you are running from becoming food.”