Nvidia CEO argues AI shift to production supports spending

Investors continue to question whether AI spending justifies chip valuations after last week's selloff. Nvidia guided to $108 billion in quarterly revenue last month, up from $96.2 billion. Huang said the increase reflects a shift into what he calls a high production ramp. In an extended interview published Sunday, he said the AI industry spent its first 10 to 15 years in research. He said that changed this year as the technology became useful and AI products began generating revenue. Huang argued that companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic are moving from laboratories into product businesses. He said both are adding computing capacity faster than any company in history. Huang told CBS that the industry had shifted into high production ramp mode over the previous six months. He dismissed forecasts that AI could end humanity by 2030, saying they are not grounded in science. The market has been testing his view. Nvidia fell 3.4% on September 14 after Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk backed slowing development, and chip stocks fell broadly. Amodei wrote that the industry had lied about AI risk for too long. Investor Michael Burry expanded his Nvidia short position and called the stock overvalued. Opposition to local data centers continues to spread, and Huang conceded that the industry handled the issue badly. Nvidia is worth roughly $5.3 trillion, making it the most valuable listed company and tying Huang's credibility to the spending he defends. President Donald Trump has supported Huang's position by calling AI safety fears a hoax and naming an AI czar. In a live phone call with Huang, Trump said data centers make people and states wealthy, described AI as bigger than the internet and said restrictions could benefit China. Huang said he will attend a state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, where he plans to press for shared AI standards. Several other industry executives, including Altman and Musk, are expected to attend. Nvidia's next earnings report will show whether the ramp Huang describes is still accelerating.