Jensen Huang Says He Wouldn't Start Nvidia Again If He Were 30, Calling The Journey 'Too Much' Despite The Company's Massive Success

On the Acquired podcast, Nvidia Corporation NVDA CEO Jensen Huang made a frank admission: if he were 30 years of age again, he would not start his own company. Despite NVIDIA's record-breaking success, Huang revealed his feelings about the challenging parts of the journey.

What Happened: When asked what kind of company he would create if given another chance, Huang responded, "I wouldn't do it."

"Building a company and building Nvidia turned out to have been a million times harder than any of us expected it to be. And at the time, if we realized the pain and suffering and just how vulnerable you're going to feel and the challenges that you're going to endure, the embarrassment and the shame, and the list of all the things that go wrong—I don't think anybody would start a company. Nobody in their right mind would do it," Huang added.

Why It Matters: Huang noted that most founders achieve success because they underestimate the difficulty at the beginning. "You have to get yourself to believe that it's not that hard because it's way harder than you think…Taking all of my knowledge now—I go back, and I said I'm going to endure that whole journey again, I think it's too much. It is just too much.”

He also highlighted the importance of a robust support network. "You need the unwavering support of the people around you… I'm pretty sure that almost every successful company and entrepreneurs that have gone through some difficult challenges had that support system around them."

Despite these challenges, Huang's company continues to make waves, with Nvidia projected to generate billions in revenue from newly announced investments from Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump praised Huang for controlling "99% of the chip market" during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, spotlighting the company's planned $500 billion investment in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure.

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