Lost Debate Pretti Killing, ICE Impunity, NVIDIA Dominance
Jan 28, 2026
Stephen Witt, author and tech journalist who wrote about Jensen Huang and NVIDIA, joins to unpack leadership forged by hardship. They explore Jensen’s obsessive drive, NVIDIA’s near-failures and daring bets like CUDA, and how talent raids, manufacturing strategy, and early AI alignments built a dominant chip empire. Tense origins and high‑risk long bets take center stage.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Neurosis Drives Jensen's Leadership
- Jensen Huang's leadership is driven more by neurosis—guilt, shame, and fear—than by grand ego.
- That negative fuel explains his relentless focus and long-term success in building NVIDIA.
Harsh Boarding School Shaped Grit
- Jensen and his brother were sent at age 10 to Oneida Baptist Institute, a reform-style boarding school in rural Kentucky.
- He survived severe bullying there and became a top student, a formative experience that taught him to thrive without rules.
NV1 Failure Sidelined A Co-Founder
- NVIDIA's first NV1 chip flopped badly because developers wouldn't adopt its odd architecture.
- Co-founder Prem stormed out after the failure and was sidelined, losing out on massive future gains.
