Pay workers ‘as much as possible’, says Nvidia CEO weighing in on AI profit-sharing debate
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang weighed in on the growing global debate about how profits from the AI infrastructure boom should be shared.
PHOTO: AFP
TAIPEI – Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said he pays his workers as much as possible, weighing in on a growing global debate about how profits from the AI infrastructure boom should be shared.
“I think people should be paid as much as possible,” he told reporters on June 2 on the sidelines of the Computex trade show in Taipei.
Huang was responding to a query about Nvidia partner Samsung Electronics and its recent compensation agreement that will deliver bonuses of as much as US$400,000 (S$510,000) to chip engineers.
“I pay my employees as much as I can,” he said. “That’s what I do, doesn’t make this right.”
From South Korea to Taiwan, the prime beneficiaries of the global artificial intelligence roll-out are coming under growing pressure to share more of their profits.
Samsung’s deal with union members averted a potentially catastrophic strike, but Nvidia’s partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), has also sought to calm concerns about profit-sharing.
TSMC CEO C.C. Wei hosted a town hall last week to reassure workers that their incentive-based programme will grow faster in 2026 than in 2025. The company may face further questions about employee compensation at its annual general meeting on June 4.
Workers are also worried they could eventually be replaced, but on June 1, Huang dismissed the idea that AI could threaten jobs as “nonsense”, saying it will instead drive revenue, profit and gross domestic product growth.
Huang is in Taipei as one of the headliners at Asia’s biggest tech show, unveiling a plethora of products, including a new chip for PCs dubbed the Spark. BLOOMBERG
