‘Absolutely not...’: Jensen Huang’s surprising confession about building an Nvidia again

Jensen Huang, the billionaire co-founder of Nvidia, has stepped down as CEO of the chipmaker after 33 years at its helm. His exit comes after reports emerged about his alleged extramarital relationships that have drawn attention to his personal life and also raised national security concerns. Amid this, an eight-year-old interview of Jensen Huang with Guy Raz has resurfaced where Jensen confessed that he would "absolutely not" build Nvidia, saying he would not want to go through the same experiences again.

'It was embarrassing, it was humiliating', said Jensen Huang

In May 2018, journalist Guy Raz sat down with Huang at Nvidia's headquarters to discuss his childhood, the company's difficult early years and the risks that nearly pushed it towards bankruptcy. During the conversation, Raz brought up Huang's earlier admission that he would never build the company again. Asked whether he would do it all over again, Huang replied, "No, way."

Huang candidly addressed the emotional toll of running the company. He said, "I gotta tell you, it's embarrassing," he said and proceeded to explain the pressure of being the public face of a Nvidia going through difficult times. Huang added, "It was embarrassing. It was humiliating. You're the only face that everybody hates. Your employees are probably embarrassed for you."

Why Jensen Huang said he would never build Nvidia again

Huang explained that people often misunderstood the question because they looked at Nvidia's eventual success rather than the struggles that came before it. "If your question is knowing how Nvidia turned out, knowing the contribution we've made to the world... Do I love those things? The answer is yes. But that wasn't the question," he told Raz.

He then described what he would tell his younger self about the journey ahead. "You are going to be the person who delivers most of the most horrific financial return news that anybody's ever explained," Huang said, recalling the possibility of going out of business and having to lay off employees. He eventually gave Raz an unequivocal answer: "Would you start again? The answer, absolutely not."

Huang also explained how he managed to keep going despite the setbacks. He shared that he spent all his time trying to forget the events of the past, as it helped him get back on his feet. The journey also cost Jensen Huang to miss out on the milestone events of his children.

Jensen Huang steps down as Nvidia CEO after 33 years

Huang resigned from his top position at the chipmaker he co-founded. The development follows allegations of extramarital affairs that came into the spotlight this week.

The New York Times reported that Huang allegedly had an affair with a businesswoman whom US intelligence suspects of having links to Chinese intelligence. Beijing has denied the allegations. Separately, the newspaper and other outlets reported that Nvidia employees said Huang had another alleged affair with an executive who reported directly to him.

Nvidia announced Huang's resignation on Thursday, with immediate effect. The California-based company also announced that Colette Kress, who has served as its chief financial officer and executive vice president since 2013, would take over as interim CEO.