Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Dissects the AI Revolution

Economic

Summary:

Superfast chips are in high demand — not just by the artificial intelligence industry, but also by companies that work in computer graphics, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or drug discovery. “It’s fun to see all these amazing applications being created,” says Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia.

Speaking to David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, at the Communacopia + Technology conference in San Francisco, Huang explained how computer graphics, for example, rely heavily on AI infrastructure. “We compute one pixel, and we infer the other 32,” he says in an edition of Goldman Sachs Talks. “Computing one pixel takes a lot of energy. Inferring the other 32 takes very little energy, and you can do it very fast. And the image quality is incredible.”

Given this speed and flexibility, this infrastructure more than pays for itself, Huang says, responding to a question from Solomon about returns on investment for customers. By spending on such equipment, “the computing cost goes up a little bit — maybe it doubles,” Huang says. “But you reduce the computing time by a factor of about 20. You get 10x savings.”

How Huang sees the data center market

Chips that accelerate computing are everywhere, but there is no such thing as a universal accelerator, Huang says. Instead, every time a chip company enters a new market, it must learn new algorithms. They differ according to purpose; the algorithm for image processing would be different from the algorithm to model fluid dynamics.

“Usually, some 5-10% of the code represents 99.999% of the run time,” Huang says. “So if you take that 5% of the code and offloaded it onto an accelerator, then technically you should be able to speed up the application a hundred times.”

The promise of this kind of accelerated computing has led to keen investor interest in the data center market, Huang says. He thinks this infrastructure can yet be improved. For one thing, the average data center is “super-inefficient, because it’s filled with air, and air is a lousy conductor of electricity.” Making data centers denser — eliminating the air, in other words — will make them cheaper and more energy efficient.

Another revolution lies in how data centers now understand not just how to process data but the meaning of the data itself, and how to translate one form of data to another, Huang says: “English to images, images to English, English to proteins, proteins to chemicals.”

The chip supply chain needs to be resilient

The ecosystem of manufacturers and suppliers to the chip industry is sprawling and complex, and particularly concentrated in Asia. As a result, Nvidia tries to design diversity and redundancy into every aspect of its supply chain.

Companies need to have “enough intellectual property” to be able to shift their manufacturing from one “fab” — or chip-making facility — to another if they have to, Huang says. “Maybe the process technology won’t be as great, or you won’t get the same level of performance or cost, but you will still be able to provide the supply.”

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

You understand and acknowledge that there is a high degree of risk involved in trading. Following any strategies or investment methods may lead to potential losses. The content on the site is provided by our contributors and analysts for information purposes only. You are solely responsible for determining whether any trading assets, securities, strategy, or any other product is suitable for investing based on your own investment objectives and financial situation.

Risk Disclosure

The risk of loss in trading financial instruments such as stocks, FX, commodities, futures, bonds, ETFs and crypto can be substantial. You may sustain a total loss of the funds that you deposit with your broker. Therefore, you should carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources.

No decision to invest should be made without thoroughly conducting due diligence by yourself or consulting with your financial advisors. Our web content might not suit you since we don't know your financial conditions and investment needs. Our financial information might have latency or contain inaccuracy, so you should be fully responsible for any of your trading and investment decisions. The company will not be responsible for your capital loss.

Without getting permission from the website, you are not allowed to copy the website's graphics, texts, or trademarks. Intellectual property rights in the content or data incorporated into this website belong to its providers and exchange merchants.

Recent Searches

Top Searches

Markets

Analysis

User

24/7

Economic Calendar

Education