Nvidia CEO wants to live in the moment without waking up

It may be surprising that one of the most famous figures in the tech world spends his life without looking at his watch. But there is a method behind Huang's madness – and probably a phone that he uses to keep track of the time.

“Very few people know this, but I don't wear a watch,” he said at the Chinese American Semiconductor Professional Association in 2023. “Now is the most important time, just focus on the now,” Huang explained.

It might be especially easy to stay in the here and now as Nvidia continues its winning streak. Demand remains so high that Nvidia will now make new AI chips every year. The company announced Wednesday that its second-quarter revenue reached nearly $28 billion, beating forecasts. Nvidia cemented its position as a giant to be reckoned with, making more profit in the first quarter of 2024 than other big names like Amazon and JPMorgan, Axios notes.

Of course, Huang tries to stay in the here and now, but the nature of his work forces him to always look to the future. When it comes to chips, the company expects[s] Demand could continue to exceed supply well into next year,” said Colette Kress, CFO of Nvidia.

Nvidia's continued success fuels the claim that AI will transform the future of technology. “The next industrial revolution has begun,” he said on a conference call. “AI will bring significant productivity gains to nearly every industry and help companies become more cost and energy efficient while increasing revenue opportunities.”

But even though his sector is demanding, Huang tries to stay out of the fray. That's why he's stayed at the top for so long. After all, he was CEO for 31 years after co-founding the company in 1993. “I don't have a watch. I focus on the here and now. I enjoy my job,” he said, as reported by Tom's Hardware.

And the watch peculiarity is not the only peculiarity that Huang has in terms of his uniform. The bare-wristed CEO now wears an all-black outfit, which is usually topped off with a black leather jacket. He has been wearing these jackets “for at least 20 years,” said a spokesman for the New York Times. It is part of his imitation matrix-esque style that creates a continuity and (expensive) simplicity that some compare to the turtleneck sweater that has become synonymous with Steve Jobs.

Looks aside, Huang's decision to go watchless could lead to greater success in the technology world.

Early in his career, Jeff Bezos, founder and former CEO of Amazon, believed that you are only as good as your last move. “I believe our customers will stay with us until someone else offers them a better service,” he said in a 1999 interview with Wendy Walsh of CNET.