Nvidia chief says AI demand is still at its beginning

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said in Tokyo that demand for artificial intelligence remains in an early stage, even as technology shares fell in Asia and Europe on concerns that the AI-driven market rally may be fading.

Huang told reporters that most technology cycles last 10 to 15 years before reaching a plateau, and said AI is at the beginning of such a cycle. He said demand would not fall, comparing it to electricity, and said semiconductors would become the world's largest industry and part of the social fabric.

Nvidia is described in the report as the world's most valuable company as governments and technology firms build AI data centres using powerful chips. Huang has announced several deals in Japan this week.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries said it and Nvidia will co-develop AI-powered robots for shipbuilding. Kawasaki said the robots are intended for welding, painting, inspection and material handling as part of a next-generation digital shipyard using physical AI and digital twin technology.

Kawasaki said Japan's shipbuilding sector faces a decline in skilled workers and labour shortages linked to the country's falling birthrate and ageing population. It also said demand for low- and zero-carbon vessels is increasing pressure on shipbuilders to expand construction capacity and improve productivity.

Nvidia also said it would sell 27,500 AI chips from its Rubin series to Noetra, a new consortium that includes SoftBank and Sony, for a government-supported project to develop a domestic AI model for robotics. Other announced tie-ups included robotics collaboration with Fujitsu and others.

Huang, who is 63 and was born in Taiwan, also visited a Tokyo arcade with Sega executives. He thanked the Japanese video game maker for a $5 million investment in Nvidia in the 1990s, saying Nvidia would not be where it is today without Sega and former Sega president Shoichiro Irimajiri.