NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang delivered an inspiring commencement speech to Caltech graduates on Friday, urging them to pursue their craft with dedication and resilience and to see setbacks as new opportunities. This message was delivered during the ceremony in Pasadena, California, the NVIDIA Blog.
Encourage unconventional thinking
Huang, who traded his signature leather jacket for black and yellow academic regalia, encouraged the nearly 600 graduates to believe in something unconventional and unexplored, but also to ensure their pursuits were informed and reasoned. “You might find your GPU. You may find your CUDA. You may find your generative AI. You may find your NVIDIA,” he said.
The evolution of computers
Addressing the graduates, Huang talked about the decades-long evolution of the computer industry, highlighting the pivotal moment of AI transformation. “Computers are the single most important tool of knowledge today, and are the basis for every single sector in every scientific field,” he noted. Huang emphasized the importance of understanding current developments as they enter the sector.
NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Bet
Huang shared how more than a decade ago NVIDIA, then a small company, gambled on deep learning and invested billions of dollars and years of engineering resources to reinvent every layer of computing. “No one knew how far deep learning could scale, and if we didn’t build it, we would never know,” he noted, referencing the famous line from Field of dreams: “If we don’t build it, they can’t come.”
Robotics and future opportunities
Looking to the future, Huang highlighted robotics as the next wave of AI, a field where NVIDIA’s journey has been marked by a series of setbacks. He reflected on a time when NVIDIA faced significant challenges, which pushed the company to explore untapped areas – what he calls “zero billion dollar markets.”
“Since there were no more markets to target, we decided to build something where we know for sure there are no customers,” Huang said. This approach led NVIDIA to build the first robotics computer, which incorporated a deep learning algorithm, which has since paved the way for the company’s current AI developments.
Resilience and agility
Huang emphasized resilience and agility as essential qualities that strengthen character. “We shook off one setback after another and skated to the next opportunity. Each time we acquire skills and strengthen our character,” he said. “Nowadays, no setback that comes our way no longer looks like an opportunity.”
He also referenced a personal experience from his travels in Japan, where observing a gardener’s dedication to Kyoto’s famous moss garden taught him the importance of prioritizing your life’s work.
“Prioritize your life,” Huang concluded, “and you’ll have enough time to do the important things.”
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