Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Credits AI for San Francisco's Resurgence

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says San Francisco is so back -- thanks to AI

Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said AI has revived a dying San Francisco that many thought wouldn't recover from the pandemic. "It's because of AI that San Francisco is back," Huang said while speaking to Jacob Helberg, Trump's undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, at The Hill & Valley Forum. "Anybody who lives in San Francisco, you'll know what I'm talking about. Just about everybody evacuated San Francisco," he said, "Now it's thriving again. It's all because of AI." A 2024 article from The San Francisco Standard called AI companies San Francisco's "most desired tenants." It cited a JLL (JLL) report that found AI companies leased north of 1.7 million square feet of office space since 2022, when ChatGPT was released. Chris Pham, senior analyst at JLL, predicted a continued AI boom in the city, likening it to the invention of electricity, instead of just another new industry. In his remarks with Helberg, Huang acknowledged that as AI progresses, "new jobs will be created, some jobs will be lost, and every job will be changed." "It's not AI that's going to take your job. It's not AI that's going to destroy your company," he said, encouraging widespread adoption of the technology. "It's the company and the person who uses AI that's going to take your job. And so that's something to internalize."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says 'San Francisco Is Back.' Here's Why.

On an episode of the Hill & Valley Forum podcast this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that AI has brought new life to San Francisco. It's welcome news, considering that, since 2019, the story has been about San Francisco's decline, both in population and in businesses. Business Insider reports that as many as 89,000 households left San Francisco during the pandemic, and major businesses like Palantir and Oracle also abandoned the once bustling tech hub. Major retailers, including Nordstrom, shuttered their downtown locations, and sunny cities like Austin and Miami became the new hot places to establish an HQ. But then came the AI boom. Related: Elon Musk Calls San Francisco 'Post-Apocalyptic' as Another Major Retailer Leaves Due to Crime The popularity of ChatGPT since it was released in late 2022 has led to an AI innovation wave, and San Francisco is seeing the benefits, Huang noted. "It's because of AI that San Francisco is back," Huang said on the podcast. "Okay, anybody who lives in San Francisco, you'll know what I'm talking about. Just about everybody evacuated San Francisco," he added. "Now it's thriving again. It's all because of AI." "New jobs will be created, some jobs will be lost, every job will be changed," he said. Huang says that AI creates a "new type" of job. And can help bring back cities, apparently. "It's software development but done in a different way," he said.

Nvidia's Jensen Huang Says AI Revived San Francisco, Predicts The GPU-Driven Revolution Will Change 'Every Job' - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Nvidia Corp. NVDA chief Jensen Huang says artificial intelligence has rewritten the tech stack -- and given the Bay Area a second wind. What Happened: "What used to be human‑coded software running on CPUs are now machine‑learning-generated software running on GPUs," he told Hill & Valley Forum co‑founder Jacob Helberg during a recent fireside chat. Huang credits that shift for the sudden buzz in downtown San Francisco, where venture capital is flooding back into AI startups. Huang argued every layer of development -- from compilers to data‑curation tools -- must now be rebuilt for AI workstreams, spawning fresh career tracks. "Some jobs, new jobs will be created, some jobs will be lost. Every job will be changed," he said. Nvidia's road map highlights Huang's point: the company rolled out its Blackwell Ultra GPU this spring and unveiled "Groot N1," a foundation model for humanoid robots aimed at closing labor gaps in factories. See also: Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Takes Shape: GOP Pushes Tax Cuts, Border Wall Funding, And Deep Spending Reductions Ahead Of Memorial Day Deadline The chip giant already commands as much as 95% of the AI‑training silicon market, and Huang contends that generative‑AI productivity will ultimately boost hiring, not kill it; earlier this year, he predicted companies would employ more people and pay higher wages as AI lifts profits. Still, he acknowledged turbulence: "Every single layer ... is being invented right now," meaning workers must reskill to stay relevant. What To Know: JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon told staff in February that AI will serve as a "copilot" by stripping away drudgery and, in some cases, eliminating roles. He called workforce turnover an ally, adding that the bank plans to "retrain and reskill and redeploy" employees displaced by automation. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski took the point further, telling Bloomberg that "AI can already do all of the jobs that we, as humans, do." The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 backs that stark outlook: 41 % of employers expect to shrink headcount within five years in positions where AI can replicate human work. Image via Shutterstock Read next: Warren Buffett Met Charlie Munger In The 1950s Thanks To The Davises After A $100,000 Investment, Felt Instant Chemistry Over Dinner NVDANVIDIA Corp$112.22-1.41%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum72.58Growth94.67Quality97.32Value7.25Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs