Nvidia is on a roll, but according to its billionaire CEO Jensen Huang, it’s also facing danger.
The semiconductor maker’s processors are used in gaming, data centers, and autonomous vehicles, playing a crucial role in the AI boom that has revitalized Silicon Valley. Major tech companies are vying to purchase its expensive AI chips. This year, it joined the elite group of companies with a market cap of over $1 trillion.
However, Huang cautioned that “there are no companies that are assured survival” at the Harvard Business Review’s Future of Business event.
Nvidia, with a 30-year history, has encountered several existential threats, including a near bankruptcy in 1995. Huang recently told Acquired that “nobody in their right mind” would start a company. Despite this, he stressed that they “don’t have to pretend the company is always in peril. The company is always in peril, and we feel it.”
Huang feels that operating between aspiration and desperation is better than being constantly optimistic or pessimistic. Yet, the Santa Clara-based chipmaker is facing challenges with the tightening of U.S. rules on tech exports to China, potentially resulting in lost revenue from canceled chip orders.
Additionally, analysts warn that competition from rival AMD and others will likely intensify. The CEO of research firm New Constructs believes that Nvidia won’t dominate AI without facing significant competition.
Huang, who admires former Intel CEO Andrew Grove’s books, embraces the notion that you must acknowledge being in peril. He emphasized, “If you don’t think you are in peril, that’s probably because you have your head in the sand.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
