The Nvidia Way unveils the journey of Jensen Huang and how his visionary leadership transformed Nvidia into a revolutionary tech giant shaping AI, gaming, and computing.

Huang emphasized constant improvement, creating a culture where iterative progress, not perfection, became Nvidia’s core operating principle.“Good today, better tomorrow—this is how revolutions are built.”

Art of Iteration

Huang foresaw the rise of AI early, pivoting Nvidia’s technology toward AI acceleration, which made them a leader in AI processing chips.“Predicting trends isn’t enough; preparing for them is the real game.”

AI as Future

The development of CUDA in 2006 turned Nvidia into a major player beyond gaming, enabling breakthroughs in AI, machine learning, and scientific research.“Great platforms grow when others build their dreams on them.”

CUDA Ecosystem

Huang’s emphasis on both hardware and software design excellence differentiated Nvidia, making their products not just functional but aspirational.“Engineering is the brain; design is the soul.”

Design as Strategy

Huang strategically collaborated with competitors like Intel and Microsoft when it aligned with Nvidia’s goals, choosing growth over rivalry.“Sometimes, the smartest move is to win together.”

Collaborating with Competitors

Huang led Nvidia through setbacks, including the 2008 recession and early AI skepticism, showing resilience and long-term vision.“True leaders rise when the world falls.”

Crisis Management

Nvidia’s impact on industries like gaming, AI, healthcare, and autonomous driving cements it as one of the most transformative companies of our time.“The true mark of success is leaving a legacy others can build on.”

Legacy of Transformation

Jensen Huang’s childhood in Taiwan and immigration to the U.S. shaped his resilience and adaptability, core traits in his leadership.“You can’t change the world without facing adversity first.”

Humble Beginnings

Huang guided Nvidia to pivot toward data centers, capturing a market vital for cloud computing and AI growth.“The next frontier is always where demand outpaces imagination.”

Data Center Boom

Huang cultivated a workplace where risk-taking was encouraged, and failure was seen as a stepping stone rather than a setback.“Innovation thrives where risks are embraced, not avoided.”

Risk & Innovation

Despite diversification, Nvidia stayed true to its gaming roots, building GPUs that continue to set the standard in immersive entertainment.“Never forget the customers who got you here.”

Gaming

In 1993, Huang co-founded Nvidia with a focus on GPUs. Starting small, they aimed for a niche in gaming but ended up reshaping technology as we know it.“Start with a clear vision, and let passion drive execution.”

Birth of Nvidia

The book highlights Nvidia’s cautious yet optimistic approach to ensuring its tech is used ethically, especially in AI and automation.“Innovation must serve humanity, not just profits.”

Ethical Technology Growth

Huang’s hands-on leadership and ability to anticipate future trends kept Nvidia ahead in dynamic and competitive markets.“Leadership isn’t about control; it’s about inspiring clarity.”

Visionary Leadership

The introduction of the GeForce 256, the first GPU in 1999, cemented Nvidia’s reputation for innovation and transformed gaming into an immersive experience.“Inventing a new category is the ultimate competitive advantage.”

GPU Revolution

The Nvidia Way encapsulates Jensen Huang’s journey from a visionary founder to an industry titan. His relentless focus on innovation, adaptability, and ethics provides lessons for anyone aiming to create a lasting impact in technology and beyond.

Discover how Jensen Huang turned Nvidia into a tech giant revolutionizing AI, gaming, and computing.

"[L]oaded with fascinating details about Huang’s unusual leadership style and maniacal work habits." —Ben Cohen, Wall Street Journal "The definitive look at the most remarkable business story of this era." —Morgan Housel, New York Times best-selling author of The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever A deeply reported business history of the chip-designer Nvidia—from its founding in 1993 to its recent emergence as one of the most valuable corporations in the world—explaining how the company’s culture, overseen by cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang, has powered its incredible success. Nvidia is the darling of the age of artificial intelligence: its chips are powering the generative-AI revolution, and demand is insatiable. For all the current interest and attention, however, Nvidia is not of our time. Founded more than three decades ago in a Denny’s in East San Jose, for years it was known primarily in the then-niche world of computer gaming. In fact, the company’s leather-jacketed leader, Jensen Huang, is the longest-serving CEO in an industry marked by near constant turmoil and failure. In The Nvidia Way, acclaimed tech writer Tae Kim draws on more than one hundred interviews—including Jensen (as he is known) and his cofounders, the two original venture capital investors, early former employees, and current senior executives—to show how Nvidia played the longest of long games, repeatedly creating new markets and outmaneuvering competitors, including the original semiconductor giant, Intel, which now finds itself well behind the upstart. Kim offers revelations at every step, among them: <ul> <li>An authoritative, myth-busting account of Nvidia’s founding in 1993.</li> <li>How Nvidia managed to overcome early missteps that would have killed most start-ups.</li> <li>The benefits of Nvidia’s flat organizational structure, which allows even low-level employees to contribute to the direction of the company.</li> <li>How Jensen’s obsession with solving the Innovator’s Dilemma—the problem of an entrenched market leader falling to smaller, nimbler companies—drove him to reinvent his approach to corporate strategy.</li> <li>How Nvidia saw the coming AI wave sooner than anyone else, and how it bet its future on a technology that had not yet arrived.</li> </ul> A rare view into Nvidia’s distinct culture and Jensen’s management principles, The Nvidia Way is a book for our moment as well as an instant classic of business history, with enduring lessons for entrepreneurs and managers alike.

INTRODUCTION

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