Who Is Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s Founder and CEO

• In case you’ve heard about AI, you are in all probability accustomed to Nvidia too.
• Booming enterprise for the chipmaker has boosted the web value of CEO Jensen Huang.
• This is a take a look at the profession rise of the Nvidia founder.

The AI arms race has been good enterprise for Nvidia, which provides the extremely in-demand chips utilized by many Huge Tech giants and startups alike to coach AI fashions.

That is additionally been excellent news for Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang. In 2024, he shot into Forbes’ record of the world’s 10 wealthiest folks as enterprise boomed for Nvidia.

Huang and fellow Nvidia founders Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky planted the seed for Nvidia at a Denny’s in northern California in 1993. As we speak, it is a family identify within the AI business, and Huang is the billionaire businessman main it.

This is a take a look at Jensen Huang’s profession rise and background.

Formative years, training

Huang was born in Taiwan in 1963. He spent a few of his childhood there and in Thailand earlier than his mother and father despatched Huang and his brother to the US to dwell with an uncle in Tacoma, Washington.

His uncle despatched him to Oneida Baptist Institute in Kentucky however after Huang’s mother and father immigrated to the US, the household lived in Oregon. He graduated from highschool at age 16 earlier than going to varsity. Huang bought his bachelor’s diploma in electrical engineering from Oregon State College and his grasp’s diploma in electrical engineering from Stanford College.

Huang bought his first job at 15. He washed dishes and bussed and waited tables at a Denny’s in Portland.

Earlier than founding Nvidia, Huang labored at laptop chip producer LSI Logic from 1985 to 1993 and at semiconductor firm AMD, or Superior Micro Gadgets, from 1984 to 1985.

Founding Nvidia, main firm as CEO

At a Denny’s in 1993, Huang and his Nvidia co-founders, Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky, got here up with the concept would ultimately result in Nvidia’s creation.

In 1999, the corporate launched the GeForce 256, which it referred to as the primary graphics processing unit, or GPU.

As we speak, Nvidia is instrumental within the generative AI business, supplying the coveted chips that tech firms use to coach AI fashions.

Curiosity in Nvidia’s chips amid the AI growth has pushed the corporate to new heights.

In a single notable milestone, Nvidia’s market cap handed $3 trillion in 2024 to briefly overtake Apple because the world’s Most worthy firm.

Huang’s internet value is $105.4 billion, in response to Forbes.

Huang’s administration and management fashion sees him skipping 1-on-1 conferences, managing round 60 direct reviews as CEO, giving suggestions publicly, and sending his employees lots of of emails a day.

Present and former Nvidia workers beforehand informed BI that Huang is a hands-on boss with excessive expectations and meticulous consideration to element who values proudly owning as much as your errors.

Huang has mentioned he has workaholic tendencies, logging 14-hour days and dealing on holidays.

He has a tattoo of Nvidia’s emblem on his shoulder, which he agreed to get when the corporate’s inventory worth hit $100 per share.

Huang’s black leather-based jacket has additionally develop into a well-known a part of his wardrobe — a staple piece he usually wears when giving keynotes or exhibiting off a brand new product.

Nvidia’s different founders, in the meantime, have stayed additional out of the highlight than Huang.

Priem was Nvidia’s chief technical officer from 1993 to 2003, and Malachowsky is a senior know-how govt at Nvidia.

After Nvidia went public in 1999, Priem put greater than three-quarters of his Nvidia shares into his Priem Household Basis and by 2006, he’d bought the remainder of his shares. He was left with a fortune of roughly $30 million, Forbes estimated in 2023.

Jensen Huang’s household

Huang met his now-wife, Lori, whereas nonetheless attending Oregon State College. The couple share two kids: Madison Huang is a director of product and technical advertising and marketing at Nvidia, and Spencer Huang is a product line supervisor on the firm.

Huang and Lisa Su, CEO of Nvidia’s rival chip big AMD, are distant cousins.

He has a house in Silicon Valley, as Nvidia is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Nvidia and Jensen Huang’s future

Huang has been president, CEO, and a member of Nvidia’s board of administrators because the firm’s creation. He and Nvidia have not mentioned a lot about succession planning.

He was elected to the Nationwide Academy of Engineering in 2024 and has obtained the Semiconductor Business Affiliation’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award.

In previous years, The Economist has named Huang the world’s finest CEO, Fortune has dubbed him its Businessperson of the 12 months, and TIME has included him in its yearly record of the world’s 100 most influential folks.

As of March 2024, Huang owned roughly 3.79% of the corporate’s excellent shares, in response to a proxy assertion. He’s Nvidia’s largest particular person shareholder.