Jensen Huang's CMU Commencement Speech: Don't be a bystander in the AI era, you must build the future with your own hands

Jensen Huang stated at the Carnegie Mellon University commencement: AI is resetting computing, and everyone is a programmer. His journey from a dishwasher to the founder of NVIDIA reveals the failure philosophy of "how hard can it be," and he calls on graduates not to fear AI, but to build the future with responsibility and optimism. (Context: Silicon Valley is spending tens of billions of dollars to poach AI talent; rumors suggest Mark Zuckerberg has a "headhunter list"—is he really that desperate?) (Background: 2024 Hong Kong Virtual Asset Market Overview: 7 exchanges, 31 brokerages, 36 asset managers) At the commencement, NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang shared his experience from being a dishwasher at a boarding school in Kentucky to becoming the CEO of a tech giant, delivering a core message to graduates: the AI era is not a game for spectators, but an opportunity for builders. In his speech, he revealed that AI is not just a tool upgrade, but a complete reset of the computing paradigm—from humans writing code to machines autonomously reasoning, planning, and using tools. This will catalyze a brand-new industrial era and provide an opportunity for the re-industrialization of the United States. Board of Trustees, professors, distinguished guests, proud parents and friends, and most importantly—the Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2026: Thank you for this honor. Being here at Carnegie Mellon University means a great deal to me. This is one of the greatest universities in the world and one of the few places that truly "invents the future." Today is a day of pride and joy, a moment where your dreams come true. But this day does not belong to you alone. Your families, teachers, mentors, and friends have supported you every step of the way. Before we talk about the future, let’s thank them. Today belongs to them, too. Graduates, please stand up. Stand up with me. Come on, everyone. Specifically, please turn to your mothers and wish them a Happy Mother's Day. For you, this is just another step in life; but for them, this is a moment where a dream comes true. Please be seated. CMU students, just like robots, listening to one instruction at a time (laughter). Alright, everyone focus. I have something important to say. Being able to watch you graduate from one of the world's greatest institutions is their moment as well. My parents were always deeply proud of me. My story is their story. I am the result of their dreams coming true. And their dream was the American Dream. Like many of you here, I am a first-generation immigrant. My father had a dream: to raise his family in the United States. When I was 9, he sent my brother and me to the U.S. We ended up at a Baptist boarding school in Oneida, Kentucky. It was in coal country, a town of only a few hundred people. Two years later, my parents gave up everything to come to the U.S. and reunite with us. They had almost nothing. My father was a chemical engineer, and my mother worked as a maid at a Catholic school. She would wake me up at 4 a.m. every day to deliver newspapers. Later, my brother helped me get a job as a dishwasher at Denny’s. To me at the time, that was a major career promotion. This is the America I see: not easy, but full of opportunity. It is not a guarantee, but an opportunity. My parents came here because they believed America could give their children a chance. How could we not have a romantic vision of America? Later, I went to Oregon State University. I met my wife, Lori, when I was 17. I was the youngest kid in school, and we were partners in a sophomore lab. She was 19, an "older woman." I beat out the other 250 guys in the class to win her heart. Today, we have been married for 40 years. We have two wonderful children, both of whom now work at NVIDIA. When I was 30, I co-founded NVIDIA with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. They were two brilliant computer scientists. We wanted to build a new kind of computer, one that could solve problems ordinary computers couldn't. We had no idea how to start a company, how to raise capital, or how to run NVIDIA. I just thought at the time: How hard can it be? It turned out to be very hard. Our first technology didn't work at all. We almost ran out of money. At one point, I had to fly to Japan to explain to the CEO of Sega that the technology they had contracted us to develop wouldn't work. I asked them to cancel the contract we couldn't fulfill, and