Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Praises Elon Musk’s Supercomputer Build for Unparalleled Speed
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang lauded Elon Musk and his artificial intelligence company xAI for their extraordinary achievement in building a cutting-edge AI supercomputer in record time.
“To my knowledge, only one person in the world has done it,” Huang said on the Bg2 Pod podcast. “It’s a superhuman effort, something that would take an ordinary person years. Elon is uniquely capable of understanding engineering, construction, large systems, and resource mobilization. It’s unbelievable.”
Colossus: The AI Supercomputer Marvel
The supercomputer, named Colossus, was constructed in Memphis, Tennessee, and features an astonishing 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs. Musk revealed in September that it took just 122 days to complete the entire process “from start to finish,” a timeline that defies industry norms.
According to Huang, the installation of the GPU cluster for Colossus was completed in just a few dozen days. He praised xAI’s engineering, software, networking, and infrastructure teams, calling their performance “incredible.”
“To put it into perspective,” Huang explained, “100,000 GPUs make Colossus the fastest supercomputer on the planet as a cluster. Normally, building a supercomputer takes three years for planning and equipment setup, plus another year to bring it into operation.”
Musk’s Determination to Expedite Development
Musk’s commitment to speed was evident in his June response to Jordan Peterson on X, where he claimed it took just 19 days to transition Colossus from hardware installation to operational training. “This was the fastest ever—not something everyone can achieve,” Musk said.
In pursuit of this rapid timeline, Musk reportedly pulled out all the stops to secure Nvidia GPUs. Oracle founder Larry Ellison shared an anecdote about Musk’s determination, recounting a dinner at Nobu Palo Alto where they both implored Huang to sell them more GPUs. “We were begging: Please take our money. No, take more. You’re not getting enough; we need you to take more of our money,” Ellison said.
Huang’s Vision for AI-Enhanced Productivity
During the podcast, Huang shared his vision for an AI-driven workforce to boost productivity at Nvidia and beyond. “I hope Nvidia becomes a company with 50,000 employees and 100 million AI assistants on each team,” he said.
Describing AI assistants as “agents,” Huang explained their role in automating tasks and solving problems. He envisions AI entities collaborating in Slack channels alongside humans, revolutionizing workflows.
“AI will recruit other AI to solve problems,” he predicted. “Humans will choose from trillions of problems, deciding which to prioritize, while AI automates the solutions.”
Contrary to fears that AI might replace jobs, Huang believes companies will continue hiring people to increase productivity. “AI doesn’t eliminate the need for humans; it empowers them to achieve more,” he concluded.
A New Era of AI-Driven Innovation
The success of Colossus underscores the transformative potential of AI in reshaping industries. Musk’s unprecedented accomplishment and Huang’s forward-looking vision highlight the collaborative power of human ingenuity and machine intelligence. This milestone not only sets new standards for supercomputing but also signals the dawn of a more productive, AI-enhanced future.
