Hajra Naz
Nvidia founder, CEO, and tireless AI hype man Jensen Huang spoke Thursday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference. He explained why his company’s AI dominance, and revenue growth, will continue its record-breaking streak through the end of next year.
He believes he can see the future.
There’s been endless speculation about whether Nvidia’s momentum will eventually slow. The company faces increasing competition for GPUs and AI chips from multiple directions. That includes hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, each building their own chips.
It also includes major AI labs like Anthropic and OpenAI, doing the same thing. Additional competition comes from newly public rival Cerebras. Startups like Etched are entering the space too.
“Most people think Nvidia builds a chip. I mean, you need airplanes to ship what we build,” Huang said. He added that the company still battles a perception rooted in its early days. Nvidia invented the GPU, originally sold mainly to consumers for PC gaming. “One GPU now is not $399. It’s $8.5 million dollars. That’s one GPU, all connected with NVLink, 2 million parts, right? 250,000 kilowatts. That’s a GPU, and we ship thousands of them.”
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He shared additional detail on one specific product. That’s a computer system combining 36 Grace CPUs with 72 Blackwell GPUs. According to Huang, orders for this system are currently growing 27% month-to-month.
Huang didn’t limit his optimism to current sales alone, though. He also reiterated Nvidia’s revenue outlook for next year. The company first provided this guidance last month. That happened alongside another record-breaking revenue quarter. At that time, Huang first suggested revenue could grow 70% next year.
“I think we could grow 70% year over year. We’re confident about that,” Huang repeated on Thursday. Analysts expect the company to close its current fiscal year around $400 billion in revenue. That would mean roughly $680 billion in revenue next year, assuming 70% growth.
Huang explained the reasoning behind his confidence. He believes his company is so deeply embedded across AI that he can effectively see where the industry is heading.
“Nvidia runs every model. Every single lab can use us,” the CEO said. He noted this includes models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google. It also includes various open-weight offerings. “We are a foundational platform of the AI ecosystem, foundational platform of the AI industry.”
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Nvidia’s reach extends across the entire AI supply chain. That includes suppliers like memory chip makers. It extends to data center projects and startups too.
“We’re tracking every single gigawatt of land, power, shell around the world. Literally everything on the planet,” he said. In this context, “shell” refers to a data center building’s shell, before it gets outfitted with computing equipment.
“I mean, just think about all my partners. How many neoclouds are reporting back to us? How many OEMs are reporting back to us? How many clouds are reporting back to us? How many AI-native companies are reporting back to us? We’re working with everybody, and so we kind of know where everything is,” he said.
That comment naturally raised questions about Nvidia’s so-called circular deals. In these arrangements, Nvidia invests in companies that then turn around and purchase its products. Similar schemes famously contributed to the downfall of an earlier generation of internet infrastructure suppliers, like Lucent Technologies.
Huang offered a simple, somewhat cheeky response to this concern. “Well, it’s not circular because we put a little bit of money in, and a lot of money comes back.” He joked further, saying, “I look at the spreadsheet, we put in $1 and $100 comes back in. Is that circular? If that is, let’s do more of that.”
Jokes aside, Huang insisted on a specific safeguard. Before any company receives investment, Nvidia ensures it already has real contracts generating customer revenue. Overall, he said he’s seen roughly $100 billion worth of such contracts. “I’m not taking any risks. … I need a sure thing.”
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Time will ultimately reveal whether Nvidia’s grip on AI can persist long-term. One consistent rule of the tech industry holds true. Big things eventually get disrupted. Even Huang acknowledges something notable right now.
Much of AI’s current growth comes from AI-native startups. These companies raise enormous sums, then spend most of that cash on their own AI usage. As the broader AI industry matures, companies will likely become more efficient. That includes how they use infrastructure and tokens going forward.
Still, for now, Nvidia maintains involvement across nearly every part of the AI industry. The company anticipates another year of strong growth ahead.
