Nvidia CEO Encourages Enterprises to Embrace ‘AI Factory’ Mindset Over Traditional Data Center Approach

In his keynote address at Nvidia’s GTC 2024 event, CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the term “AI factory” repeatedly. He remarked, “In the last Industrial Revolution, the essential resource for factories was water,” highlighting a transformation central to industrialization.

After the keynote, Huang elaborated in an interview, drawing a parallel between traditional industry and the modern digital landscape. He noted, “Data centers have often been seen as money pits. However, there's a new Industrial Revolution unfolding within these server rooms: I refer to them as AI factories. The input here is data and electricity, while the output is data tokens—these tokens, though invisible, hold immense value and will be distributed worldwide.”

This metaphor is particularly relevant as Nvidia aims to shift corporate perceptions regarding data centers and AI solutions. “Previously, data centers were categorized as cost centers and capital expenditure,” Huang explained. “They were viewed as expenses. In contrast, a factory generates revenue. We are entering a new era where generative AI represents a different kind of factory.”