Jensen Huang On Joe Rogan: How Fear Of Failure Fuels NVIDIA’s AI Empire

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made his debut on the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience last evening, sitting down for over two hours with the host of America's most popular podcast. During the episode, the two cover a fairly wide variety of topics with a focus on technology and governance, but especially focused on NVIDIA itself and ongoing concerns with regards to the AI race. Most of the episode centers around technology, though the opening minutes do cover how Joe and Jensen first met—first in-person through Elon Musk at SpaceX, then over the phone when President Trump called Rogan during an in-person conversation with Jensen. Before long, the two move past Trump and begin tackling the broader tech industry and NVIDIA's place within it.

There were many topics covered within the scope of the interview, but one that particularly caught our attention was a statement where Jensen admits the world "has just heard me say that out loud for the first time." When Joe Rogan asks Huang what fuels him, Jensen confesses "I have a greater drive from not wanting to fail than the drive of wanting to succeed."


Rogan presses, pointing out that "success coaches would tell you that's the wrong psychology." Jensen doubles down, replying, "Well, that's fascinating. The fear of failure drives me more than greed or whatever it is. [...] Because the feeling—I'm not ambitious, for example. You know, I just want to stay alive, Joe. (Jensen smiles with a chuckle)" "I want the company to thrive. I want us to make an impact."

Rogan replies, "That's interesting. Well, maybe that's why you're so humble. [...] It's like, though, if you were the guy that your main focus is just success, you probably would go, 'Well, made it. Nailed it. I'm the man. Instead, you wake up, and you're like, 'God, we can't [expletive] this up.

'"No, every morning." Jensen then admits, "Every morning. No, every moment. Yeah, before I go to bed." It's clear this high-flying CEO is firmly grounded in reality and his responsibility as CEO of the world's foremost AI leadership company. 

Coming from the CEO of the highest-valued company in world history, it's a surprisingly humble outlook on business, one that paints a different picture than the usual image of Jensen's unshakeable confidence in NVIDIA and AI. This isn't the first time we've gotten a peek at a more human side of GPU market dominator and NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, though—he once previously went on the record stating, that if given a second chance at life, "I wouldn't [start NVIDIA]", citing the difficulty of building a business of this class and magnitude.


The full podcast episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Jensen Huang includes some other notable highlights, and is highly-recommended viewing for anyone who wants detailed insight into the thinking behind the biggest chip player in Silicon Valley right now. A segment I found particularly interesting was a discussion of Moore's Law and the ongoing energy crisis relating to fueling AI—with Jensen anticipating that NVIDIA, Google, and other companies like them will begin building nuclear power plants to meet demands within the next seven years. "We'll all be power generators," Jensen claims.

Images, credit: Joe Rogan Experience on YouTube