Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says a fear of missing out keeps him engaged in the AI race

Diane BradyBy Diane BradyExecutive Editorial Director, Fortune Live Media and author of CEO Daily
Diane BradyExecutive Editorial Director, Fortune Live Media and author of CEO Daily

Diane Brady is an award-winning business journalist and author who has interviewed newsmakers worldwide and often speaks about the global business landscape. As executive editorial director of the Fortune CEO Initiative, she brings together a growing community of global business leaders through conversations, content, and connections. She is also executive editorial director of Fortune Live Media and interviews newsmakers for the magazine and the CEO Daily newsletter.

Joey AbramsBy Joey AbramsAssociate Production Editor
Joey AbramsAssociate Production Editor

    Joey Abrams is the associate production editor at Fortune.

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (L) talks onstage with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff (R) during Salesforce's Dreamforce on Sept. 17, 2024 in San Francisco, Calif.
    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (L) talks onstage with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff (R) during Salesforce's Dreamforce on Sept. 17, 2024 in San Francisco, Calif.
    Justin Sullivan—Getty Images

    Good morning from San Francisco.

    I’m in town to speak at Dreamforce, the annual gathering hosted by Salesforce that’s now being cast as the “largest AI event in the world.” Indeed, this year’s agenda revolves around the enterprise tech giant’s launch of Agentforce, a suite of autonomous AI-powered agents that can make decisions and do other complex tasks, enabling a higher level of service. When I saw how a Saks Fifth Avenue bot named Sophie added discounts and delivery options for a sweater, I suddenly wanted to shop at Saks. (I bought my first Philips Sonicare toothbrush after listening to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff extol the virtues of connected brushing at another event 10 years ago.)

    I moderated a lively session yesterday with eight CEOs who talked about their own experiences with AI, across a range of industries. Because the conversation was held under Chatham House rules, I can’t identify who said what, but the overall mood was one of anticipation, of starting to see transformative insights, cost savings, productivity gains, and personalized customer experiences. Think of speed as a metric of success and curiosity as a core competency in hiring. We also discussed the need to build trust and monitor for bias—something I thought about when reading McKinsey’s 10th annual Women in the Workplace report that came out yesterday, showing how fragile women’s gains can be.

    The best example of the power of curiosity came during Benioff’s conversation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Both men are billionaires who could be eating bon bons by the beach instead of working as hard as they do. Benioff, who joked that he sometimes uses ChatGPT as a therapist, noted how hard it can be for anyone to “stay that fired up over a long period of time” without cultivating a ‘beginner’s mind’ that sees possibilities and new ideas in familiar places.

    For Huang, who credits part of his success to working at Denny’s at age 15, this period of innovation is just too exciting to miss. “I realize that that our company is in a once-in-a-lifetime position to be able to make a real contribution,” he said. “We now have the instruments, the tools, this capability called artificial intelligence, that will solve all of those other problems that we’ve been excited about ever since we were kids … We don’t want to miss this next decade.”

    More news below.

    Diane Brady
    diane.brady@fortune.com
    Follow on LinkedIn

    TOP NEWS

    Intel gets boost from Amazon

    Intel stocks surged as much as 14% on Tuesday after the struggling chipmaker announced a partnership with Amazon to develop AI chips. The company’s stock is still down 50% year-to-year, however, and some investors say this recent news isn’t enough to signal that Intel can keep up with competition. Fortune

    Lazard CEO says bankers want important work not long hours

    Lazard CEO Peter Orszag was asked why Wall Street bankers tolerate grueling 80-hour workweeks during an appearance on The David Rubenstein Show on Bloomberg. He replied that people are often willing to do work they feel gives them greater meaning and a sense of purpose, and they prefer that over the boredom of a 9-5 job. Fortune

    Safety overhaul at OpenAI

    OpenAI announced on Tuesday that CEO Sam Altman would exit the AI company’s Safety and Security Commission, which will now be led by an independent board. The commission will also see a boost in power as it is now able to delay deployments of models if safety measures aren’t met, instead of just making recommendations. Fortune

    AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

    ‘A death spiral of its own making’: Boeing halts hiring, raises, and non-essential travel after thousands of workers walk off the job by Jane Thier

    Singapore is the only Southeast Asian city on a ranking of centi-millionaires—and that could be good for its economy by Lionel Lim

    Instagram unveils Teen Accounts with mandatory parental controls by Chris Morris

    Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ by Christiaan Hetzner

    Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera likely to become EU antitrust enforcer, as Ursula von der Leyen names new team by David Meyer

    Citi Wealth chief investment strategist shares predictions ahead of Fed rate cuts by Will Daniel

    This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams.

    This is the web version of CEO Daily, a newsletter of must-read global insights from CEOs and industry leaders. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.