Jensen Huang: "Quantum Computing Is Reaching an Inflection Point"

"We Will Build the World's First Industrial AI Cloud in Europe"

Jensen Huang, CEO of the American artificial intelligence (AI) chip manufacturer Nvidia, said on June 11 (local time) that "quantum computing is reaching an inflection point."

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. Photo by AP Yonhap News

During his keynote speech at the GTC Developer Conference held in Paris, France, Huang stated, "We are getting closer to the point where quantum computers can actually be applied to areas capable of solving interesting problems within the next few years."

Huang mentioned Nvidia's hybrid quantum-classical computing solution, 'Cuda Q', which is currently under development, and said, "This is truly an exciting time." Cuda Q is an open-source platform that enables quantum computers and traditional computers to operate together by having classical computers, centered around Nvidia's powerful graphics processing units (GPUs), compensate for the limitations of quantum computers.

Huang's remarks represent a much more optimistic outlook compared to his comments in January regarding the commercialization timeline for quantum computers. At that time, he predicted that "it would take about 20 years for practical quantum computers to emerge." Following those remarks, stock prices of companies related to quantum computing plummeted by around 40%.

Huang also said he was "deeply impressed by the large community" of quantum computing companies in Europe, and shared that he met with representatives from the French quantum startup Pasqal the previous night. He went on to announce at Viva Technology, Europe's largest startup expo, that Nvidia would expand AI infrastructure in Europe, stating, "We will build the world's first industrial AI cloud in Europe." He explained, "This industrial AI cloud will be used for virtual wind tunnel design and simulation," adding, "It will allow us to observe the movement of cars in a virtual wind tunnel and make real-time design changes."

Huang stated, "Europe is now realizing the importance of AI factories and AI infrastructure. I am very pleased to see so much activity happening here," and predicted, "We will add 20 more AI factories in Europe and increase Europe's AI computing capacity tenfold within two years." He also introduced Nvidia's global partnerships, announcing that Nvidia would build a cloud platform powered by 18,000 of its latest Blackwell chips in collaboration with the French AI startup Mistral AI.

Viva Technology, where startups from around the world meet with investors from the European region, is an event co-hosted by the French advertising company Publicis and the media outlets Le Parisien and Les Echos, which are owned by LVMH. The event was launched in 2016. The number of participating companies and visitors increases every year; at last year's event, more than 13,500 startups and over 165,000 visitors attended, up 20% from the previous year.