Nvidia exposes super chips, Huang Renxun: AI has reshaped the computer industry

On May 29, NVIDIA revealed its new product "NVIDIA DGX™ supercomputer", which provides hardware support for giant models of generative AI language applications, recommendation systems, and data analysis workloads.

The core component of the computer is the NVIDIA Grace Hopper super chip that has been fully put into production - 200 billion transistors, integrating 72-core Crace CPU, Hopper GPU and other components in the same package. It is reported that the chip can greatly reduce the cost and energy consumption of training large language training models (LLM).

The new product was exposed three days after Nvidia released its quarterly financial report. In Q1 of 2023, the company’s revenue will reach US$7.19 billion. After the release of this "epic" financial report, Nvidia's market value soared by US$200 billion in one day, and the total market value of 963.185 billion almost made Nvidia enter the "trillion club". After , Apple and Tesla, the seventh company to unlock this achievement.

There is no doubt that this chip giant that provides the "brain" for computers is the most indispensable part of the AI era, and it is regarded as the "biggest winner" by the outside world.

Nvidia, which seems to be catching up with the trend and "lying to win", has in fact been solving the problem of computing speed since its establishment in the 1990s by taking the PC game market as an entry point. After becoming the global leader in programmable graphics processing technology, Nvidia saw the potential of deep learning technology in 2014, provided a Cuda solution that supports GPU computing, and planted the seeds for the subsequent AI explosion.

The "winners" have also suffered setbacks. On May 27, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang shared three stories of "almost destroying" Nvidia in his speech at the graduation ceremony of National Taiwan University, in order to encourage the graduates who are about to walk out of the ivory tower. The three stories just cover three key products that can represent the company, hiding the details of why Nvidia can win.

Throughout the 20-minute speech in English, he did not forget to express his views on the era of artificial intelligence that has just started: AI has fundamentally reshaped computers, and this will be a rebirth of the computer industry. He reminded young people to be mentally prepared. The new era brings new opportunities. "Graduation in 1984 was a perfect year, and I predict that 2023 will be the same."

"Metaverse Explosion" compiled the content of his speech:

I first came to National Taiwan University more than ten years ago when Dr. Chen (Editor's Note: National Taiwan University President Chen Wenwen) invited me to visit his computational physics laboratory. At that time, Dr. Chen's son was also in Silicon Valley and learned that Nvidia had just developed CUDA technology, so he suggested to his father to apply it to quantum physics simulation experiments.

When I arrived, Dr. Chen closed the door and showed me what he had built: an entire room filled with Nvidia's GeForce gaming graphics cards, connected to an open PC motherboard, and cooling fans in the hallway. Dr. Chen built a very large supercomputer with a game graphics card. What he did can be said to be an early case of the application of Nvidia chips.

Dr. Chen was very proud. He said to me: "Mr. Huang, because of your work, I can complete my career in my lifetime." I am still deeply moved by his words, and it perfectly interprets the value of our company. To help the Einsteins and Da Vincis of our time complete their careers.

I am very happy to be back on the campus of National Taiwan University and to give you a graduation speech. When I graduated from OSU, the world was a lot simpler. TV was not a tablet, there was no wireless TV, there was no music TV, and the words "mobile" and "telephone" had not been linked together. It wasn't until 1994 that the birth of IBM's personal computer PC and Apple's Macintosh kicked off the PC revolution and created the chip and software industry we know today.

What you are entering today is a more complex world, with geopolitical, social and ecological challenges. Surrounded by technology, people have been endlessly connected to each other, forming a digital world parallel to the real world.

40 years ago, the computer industry led to the creation of the entire PC industry. Today, we have invented artificial intelligence (AI). Like the software that drives a car, or the software that reads X-rays, AI opens a door. It lets computers automate tasks, forming the world's largest, multi-trillion dollar industry. **From healthcare, financial services, transportation to manufacturing, AI is already creating enormous opportunities. Companies that move fast can use AI to advance their status, and those that don't will be eliminated. **

In the past period of rapid computer development, new industries will be created, and **AI will also create job opportunities that did not exist before, such as data engineers, AI factory operators, and AI security workers. What is certain is that AI will change all occupations, and it will greatly enhance the performance of designers, artists, marketers, and manufacturing planners. **

Just like every generation before you embraced emerging technologies to succeed, every company and everyone here must learn to use AI well and do amazing things with the help of AI.

We are at the beginning of a new era of technology, just as people have experienced PCs, the Internet, mobile devices and cloud storage before them. But in comparison, the impact of **AI is more far-reaching. Because all computing levels have been redefined. From the way of writing software to the way of computing, AI has changed the computer industry from the beginning to the end. **

From various levels, this is a kind of rebirth of the computer industry, and it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for enterprises. You are the foundation of the computer industry. In the next decade, new, faster AI computers will replace the trillion-dollar traditional computer industry.

My journey in life is 40 years ahead of yours. 1984 was the perfect year for graduates, and I predict 2023 will be as well. Before you start your life journey, what can I tell you? Today is the most successful day of your life so far, you are graduating from National Taiwan University. I was also very successful until I started Nvidia.

At Nvidia, I experienced a lot of failures, including very major ones. These failures are very embarrassing and humbling. A lot of failures almost destroyed us. Let me tell you three Nvidia stories that define Nvidia today.

Correct mistakes and ask for help Riva128 save Nvidia

We founded NVIDIA to create accelerated computing, the first application being 3D graphics for computer games. We invented an unconventional 3D technique called forward texturing. This approach reduced costs considerably, and won a contract with Sega to build the console, and Sega (editor's note: Japanese video game company) also provided us with financing.

After a year of development, we realized that our architecture adopted the wrong strategy and it was technically substandard. At the same time, Microsoft is about to release Direct3D for Windows 95 based on reverse texture mapping and triangles. This meant that if we were done with Sega's console, we'd be done with an inferior technology that wasn't compatible with Windows and was backwards. However, if the contract is not completed, we will go bankrupt.

I contacted the CEO of Sega, explained to him that our method of invention was wrong, we could not complete the contract, and suggested that Sega find another partner. But I also stated that we need full payment from Sega, otherwise Nvidia will go bankrupt. I'm embarrassed to ask Sega's CEO for help.

To my surprise, Sega's CEO understood us and was very generous with funding us for 6 months. With these 6 months of funding, we launched Riva128. Riva128 shocked the early 3D market, catapulted us to fame and saved the company when we were almost out of business.

Invidia Riva128 Graphics Chip

**Nvidia has been saved by choosing to be honest about our mistakes and humbly ask for help. These qualities are the hardest for bright and successful young people like you. **

Adhere to GPU accelerated computing and CUDA will eventually become the standard

In 2007, we announced Cuda that supports GPU-accelerated computing. Our goal is to make Cuda a programming model ranging from scientific computing and physical simulation to image processing. Creating an entirely new model of computing is quite difficult, and historically few have done so. The CPU computing model has been the standard for 60 years.

With Cuda, developers need to write applications to demonstrate the benefits of the GPU. But developers need a large installed base, and consumers need to buy new applications to install Cuda. So, in an attempt to solve the chicken-and-egg problem, we used G-Force, which already has a large number of gamers, to build the Cuda install base.

NVIDIA Cuda defines a unified computing architecture

However, Cuda's research and development costs are very high, and Nvidia's profits have suffered a huge blow, and its market value once fell to around US$1 billion (now Nvidia's market value is close to US$1 trillion). After many years of poor performance, shareholders were skeptical of Cuda and wanted us to focus on improving profitability. But we persevered, and we believed that the era of accelerated computing was upon us.

We created a global AI developer conference called GTC and relentlessly promote Cuda around the world. Then the applications started appearing, in one scientific field after another, for seismic processing, CT reconstruction, molecular dynamics, particle physics, fluid dynamics, and image processing. We collaborated with each developer to write algorithms and achieved incredible speedups.

In 2014, Alex trained on our GPU, starting the big bang of AI, and luckily,** we realized the potential of deep learning, and we risked everything to pursue deep learning. Years later, the AI revolution began, with Nvidia as the driving engine. We invented CUDA for AI, and this journey has forged our character, suffering pain and suffering, and is a necessary pain on the way to pursue our vision. **

Give up mobile chips and focus on AI computing to create new industries

In the mobile chip market, in 2010, Google aimed to build Android into a mobile computer with excellent graphics. The mobile phone industry already has chip companies with modem expertise, and Nvidia's computing and graphics expertise made us an ideal partner to help build Android.

We were an instant success and our business and stock price soared. However, competition quickly flooded the market, and modem chipmakers were learning how to build computing chips, and we were learning how to build modems.

The global market is huge, and we can certainly compete for market share, but we made the difficult decision to exit the mobile chip market. Because NVIDIA's mission is to build computers that can solve problems that ordinary computers can't, we should be fully committed to realizing our vision and making unique contributions.

Our strategic retreat paid off. By leaving the mobile phone market, we created a new industry. **We want to create a new type of robotic computer with a neural network processor and a secure architecture that can run AI algorithms. **It was a zero-scale market back then, and today we have a multi-billion dollar automotive and robotics business, creating a new industry.

**Giving up is not always easy, especially for the smartest and most successful people like you. But retreating, sacrificing, and deciding what to let go of, is at the heart of success. **

Students graduating in 2023, you are about to enter a world that is undergoing great changes, just like the PC and chip revolution when I graduated, **You are now at the beginning of the AI era. Every industry will be revolutionized and reborn. Prepare your minds for this. **In the past 40 years, we have created the personal computer, the Internet, mobile devices, cloud technology and now the age of AI, but what will you create?

Whatever you create, be sure to run as hard as we do. Remember, run. Whether it's running for food, or not being treated as food by others. You often have no way of knowing which situation you're in, but keep running anyway.

On your future journeys, please take my lessons with you: the humility to fail, the ability to recognize your mistakes, and the courage to ask for help. You will endure the pain and suffering required to achieve your dreams and make the sacrifices to commit to living meaningful lives and sprinting your life's career.

My heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of you graduating in 2023. come on!