Nvidia CEO Charms India: Wit, AI, & Ambani Jokes

Mumbai, Oct 24 (PTI) Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang charmed all on what may be his debut public appearance in India on Thursday, joking about Ambani family's private residence and assuaging Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar's worries on AI's impact on jobs.

The 61-year-old's swag was visible right from the beginning of the keynote at the Nvidia AI Summit. Starting about 40 minutes behind schedule, the opening act at the event held in the BKC business district infamous for traffic snarls and challenges in accessibility, the CEO tickled the funny bones right from the start.

The CEO forgot to get a gadget to roll slides when he made the appearance, giving him an opening to make light of it by blaming the consulting major managing affairs.

Throughout the speech, which started from the evolution of computing in the 1960s to how Nvidia is redefining the landscape, there was a liberal adoption of humour and the thousands of people present in the room responded to each punch.

The loudest cheers by the audience, comprising tech enthusiasts, were, however, reserved for mentions of Nvidia's accomplishments and also glimpses which offered a peek into Huang's audacious bets dating back to the late 1990s.

Addressing an audience who's response had forced Nvidia to stop registrations two weeks prior to the event, Huang also spoke about the future of AI and how he sees things shaping up in the future.

A short chat with Kumar, who had entered the room minutes before the start of the event, helped break the monotony which can be set in through a nerdy talk. Jokes flew on each other's age, martial arts, common roots in Thailand, future releases for the actor and also the true impact of Artificial Intelligence on jobs, as he sees it.

Answering Kumar's specific poser, Huang said AI will not impact jobs directly but the one who does not use the tools to improve his work efficiency will surely be impacted by the one who does. The crowd, which had started trickling in two hours prior to the scheduled time could not agree more.

The public cheers reached a crescendo in the next segment with richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, especially when Huang pulled off a quick one on Ambani's palatial home Antilla, billed as the costliest private residence on the planet.

Wearing a white half-sleeved shirt which was tucked out and black trousers, Ambani attempted to lighten up by making a specific mention of the venue, Jio World Centre, being built by his wife Nita, offering an opening to Huang.

"Am I at her house? Her house is bigger than your house. I thought your house was big. From Mukesh's house, I can see my house in California," the visiting CEO chuckled, leading to laughter.

Huang's wit and enthusiasm, however, seemed to go over the board at times, with Ambani having to halt mid-sentences multiple times. But the audience did not mind.