Jensen Huang, co-founder of Nvidia and a billionaire Taiwanese immigrant, has seen his wealth soar by 33% this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This growth makes him one of the largest beneficiaries of the rising popularity of ChatGPT, a tool developed by OpenAI.
Nvidia, initially a company focused on creating computer chips for video game graphics, has become a dominant player in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, powering applications from autonomous cars to crypto mining. It is considered one of Wall Street’s top bets for profiting from the future of AI, driven by Microsoft’s vow to invest $10 billion in OpenAI.
According to Citigroup, ChatGPT usage could result in sales between $3 billion and $11 billion for Nvidia over the next 12 months. This estimation is based on projections for the number of words generated by ChatGPT and revenue per word for Nvidia.
Huang, who studied electrical engineering at Oregon State and Stanford Universities, declined to comment but spoke about the challenges and potential harm AI presents to society and regulators during an event in Stockholm. He questioned the social and legal norms for using the technology, which is still evolving.
Nvidia’s market value reached its peak of over $800 billion in late 2021, but declined last year due to a sharp decrease in sales of gaming chips and a general slowdown in personal computer sales. However, the company’s stock has risen over 35% since the start of 2023, reflecting investor excitement about ChatGPT’s potential.
Ruben Roy, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus, believes that a semiconductor company like Nvidia is the best way to play AI, with ChatGPT generating a lot of buzz in the industry.
