Why Does Nvidia's CEO Expect 70% Growth Next Year?

At a time when questions are mounting over Nvidia's ability to maintain its lead in the AI chip market, its founder and CEO Jensen Huang made striking remarks in which he reaffirmed his forecast that the company's revenue will grow by a staggering 70% over the coming year. These comments came during a technology conference hosted by Goldman Sachs, where Huang sought to dispel concerns about the company's future in the face of a wave of new competitors.

Competition Surrounding It From Every Direction

Nvidia no longer sits on the throne of AI chips unchallenged as it once did. Today, the company faces competitive pressure from multiple fronts, most notably:

• Cloud computing giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, who are developing their own chips.
• Major AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which are working to build custom chips of their own.
• Rising competitors such as Cerebras, which recently went public, alongside startups like Etched.

Despite this competitive momentum, Huang appeared confident that his company's position remains impregnable thanks to its deep presence in every corner of the AI industry.

Not Just a Chip

Huang was keen to correct what he described as a common misunderstanding about the nature of the company's products. He explained that most people still imagine Nvidia as merely a maker of small chips, when the matter has evolved radically since the early days when graphics processing units (GPUs) were sold at cheap prices to enhance the gaming experience on personal computers.

He gave an example, saying that a single processing unit today is no longer sold for $399, but may be worth around $8.5 million. It is in fact an integrated system comprising some two million interconnected parts linked via NVLink technology, consuming enormous amounts of power—so much so that shipping it requires airplanes. He noted that one of its systems, which combines 36 Grace processors and 72 Blackwell units, is seeing monthly sales growth of 27%.

Confidence Built on a Comprehensive Vision

When he spoke about the financial forecasts, Huang reaffirmed his earlier estimates announced last month alongside a new record quarterly result. Analysts expect the company to close its current fiscal year with revenue of nearly $400 billion, meaning that 70% growth would push the figure to around $680 billion next year.

Huang attributes his confidence to the fact that his company has become entrenched in every joint of the AI sector, to the point where he can foresee the future. He affirmed that nearly every AI model runs on Nvidia platforms, whether OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google models, in addition to open-weight models, considering his company a «foundational platform» for this entire industry.

He added that Nvidia closely monitors every gigawatt of power, every plot of land, and every data center building around the world, and that it is in constant contact with a wide network of partners including cloud service providers, equipment manufacturers, and startups, giving it an accurate picture of market movement.

Accusations of Circular Deals

This vast network has raised questions about what is known as «circular deals,» whereby Nvidia invests in companies that turn around and buy its products—a practice some link to the collapse of former suppliers in the internet era such as Lucent Technologies. But Huang responded in an amusing manner, saying the matter is not circular, «because we put in a little money and get a lot back,» joking that if investing one dollar returns a hundred dollars, then they should do it more.

He affirmed that the company does not invest in any entity before verifying that it holds real contracts that generate actual revenue, noting that he had reviewed contracts worth nearly $100 billion, and that he «takes on no risk» and always seeks guaranteed assurances.

Will the Dominance Last?

The question remains over Nvidia's ability to maintain its dominance in the long term, for the golden rule in the tech world holds that every large entity is vulnerable to disruption. Huang himself acknowledges that a large part of the current growth stems from startups raising huge funding rounds and spending most of it on their own AI use cases. As the industry matures, companies are expected to become more efficient in consuming infrastructure. But for the time being, Nvidia appears reassured about another year of abundance.

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