If you’re still thinking of AI as a nifty assistant or a threat to white-collar jobs, Jensen Huang wants to change your perspective, dramatically. In a captivating conversation at the Milken Institute, the Nvidia founder and CEO laid out an audacious but clear-eyed roadmap: artificial intelligence isn’t just a tech wave. It’s the next industrial revolution. And Nvidia? It’s not a chipmaker anymore. It’s the backbone builder of this new era, a $200B/year AI infrastructure powerhouse.
Three Layers of the AI Revolution
- AI as a Digital Workforce
Forget the old metaphor of computers as tools. According to Huang, AI is a digital robot. It doesn’t just sit there waiting for commands, it performs work autonomously, whether it’s translating languages, solving problems, or synthesising new proteins. This means the AI economy is tapping into the $100 trillion global economy, not just the $1 trillion IT sector. - AI Factories are the New Industrial Backbone
Huang’s most mind-bending metaphor? AI isn’t just software. It’s manufactured. And the manufacturing takes place in giant, energy-intensive “AI factories” that process data and generate “tokens”, which can become words, images, videos, drugs, or robot instructions. Nvidia is now building these factories at gigawatt scale, with price tags of $50–60 billion each. Tens of these facilities will be erected globally in the next decade. - A New Global Infrastructure: Intelligence
In the past, we built infrastructure around energy or information. Now, we’re building the “intelligence infrastructure.” Huang compares AI’s role today to the early days of the internet, hard to define, but soon to be utterly essential in everything from healthcare and finance to logistics, manufacturing, and entertainment.
From Displacement to Empowerment: AI & Jobs
Yes, jobs will be affected. But Huang is adamant: AI won’t take your job, someone using AI will. He frames AI not as a threat, but as a profound equaliser. Programming has long been the domain of 30 million specialists. But AI makes computing accessible to anyone. Just ask it how to help you, whether you’re a 12-year-old or a PhD.
Huang sees AI as a tool to close the technology divide, not widen it. Whether you’re a teacher, a doctor, or a farmer, AI can now be your co-pilot.
Why Nvidia Won (and Intel Didn’t)
Nvidia’s story isn’t just one of vision, it’s one of relentless perseverance. While Intel stuck to its script, Huang and his team chased hard problems no one else wanted, like solving computing challenges traditional chips couldn’t. Nvidia built its entire computing stack from the ground up: architecture, chips, systems, software, and ecosystem. Today, that “stack” powers everything from ChatGPT to cutting-edge drug discovery.
Their culture? A heady mix of long-suffering, constant innovation, and humility. Huang jokes they’ve been “always going out of business for 30 years.” It’s this paranoia that keeps them hungry.
The Trillion-Dollar AI Industries of Tomorrow
Today’s AI industry mostly powers the consumer internet. But the future? Huang sees AI transforming:
- Healthcare & Life Sciences – From virtual proteins to virtual cells.
- Manufacturing – Gigantic robotic systems orchestrating robotic sub-assemblies.
- Financial Services – Smarter, faster, adaptive infrastructure.
- Industrial Robotics – What Huang calls “Physical AI.”
This is the trillion-dollar runway Nvidia is building toward. Robots building robots building robots? That’s not science fiction, it’s near-term vision.
The Geopolitics of AI: Should the US Export?
On the topic of export restrictions, Huang walks a diplomatic tightrope. While he understands national security concerns, he believes banning AI tech exports cedes ground to rivals like Huawei. The better strategy? Export American standards. Dominate the global ecosystem. Build AI on U.S. terms, not in isolation.
And oh, by the way, China is a $50 billion market Nvidia is currently restricted from. That’s like “leaving an entire Boeing” on the table, he says.
Key Traits of Nvidia Staffers.
If you’re wondering who the amazing people are who drive this powerhouse business, here’s Huang’s criteria for Nvidia employees:
- Domain expertise (robotics, biology, finance, you name it)
- Curiosity and general intelligence
- And most importantly? A love of hard work and suffering.
Yes, suffering. Because at Nvidia, building the future isn’t glamorous. It’s just… really hard. But worth it.
The TAMIM Takeaway
At TAMIM, we believe AI is not just a vertical, it’s a horizontal that touches every industry. Jensen Huang’s vision reinforces our thesis: the companies that understand how to build, adopt, and deploy AI infrastructure are the ones that will shape the next economy.
Whether you’re investing in listed equities or private secondaries, understanding how the AI ecosystem scales, from tokens to trillion-dollar factories is key. Nvidia may be at the centre of it now. But the web of opportunity around it is vast and only beginning.
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Disclaimer: As at the date of publication, TAMIM Asset Management does not hold any of the companies mentioned in this article. This information is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.