The Thinking Machine

Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip

De: Stephen Witt

Narrado por: Stephen Witt

Shortlisted for the FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award

“A lively biography. . . . The story of how Nvidia became the hottest investment on Wall Street and a household name is fascinating.”—Katie Notopoulos, The New York Times Book Review

“Framed as a biography of Jensen Huang, the only CEO Nvidia has ever had, the book is also something more interesting and revealing: a window onto the intellectual, cultural, and economic ecosystem that has led to the emergence of superpowerful AI.”—James Surowiecki, The Atlantic

Nvidia is as valuable as Apple and Microsoft. It has shaped the world as we know it. But its story is little known. This is the definitive story of the greatest technology company of our times.

In June of 2024, thirty-one years after its founding in a Denny’s restaurant, Nvidia became the most valuable corporation on Earth. The Thinking Machine is the astonishing story of how a designer of video game equipment conquered the market for AI hardware, and in the process re-invented the computer.

Essential to Nvidia’s meteoric success is its visionary CEO Jensen Huang, who more than a decade ago, on the basis of a few promising scientific results, bet his entire company on AI. Through unprecedented access to Huang, his friends, his investors, and his employees, Witt documents for the first time the company’s epic rise and its single-minded and ferocious leader, now one of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures.

The Thinking Machine is the story of how Nvidia evolved to supplying hundred-million-dollar supercomputers. It is the story of a determined entrepreneur who defied Wall Street to push his radical vision for computing, becoming one of the wealthiest men alive. It is the story of a revolution in computer architecture, and the small group of renegade engineers who made it happen. And it’s the story of our awesome and terrifying AI future, which Huang has billed as the ‘next industrial revolution,’ as a new kind of microchip unlocks hyper-realistic avatars, autonomous robots, self-driving cars, and new movies, art, and books, generated on command.

This is the story of the company that is inventing the future.

©2025 Stephen Witt (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A fun and well-informed look at its subject matter. There should be more books on one of the world’s most valuable companies, and yes here supply is elastic.”—Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution

“The Thinking Machine is a delicious account of how a scrawny Taiwanese immigrant, with an intense commitment to reason, loyalty to people, and a Stakhanovite work ethic, built the engine of the AI revolution.”—Michael Moritz, former Chairman, Sequoia Capital

“Witt's book delves into not just what Nvidians have done but how they think—or don't think—about what their inventions will bring in the grander scheme of history.”—Emma Cosgrove, Business Insider

Tec heavy and-Savvy: A Deep Dive into NVIDIA’s Rise and Jensen Huang’s Vision”

Some books are fun, some are fascinating, and others offer a solid learning experience—The Thinking Machine by Luke Dormehl lands squarely at the intersection of all three. It’s an engaging dive into NVIDIA’s rise, full of boardroom drama, strategic pivots, and technical evolution. AI and machine learning enthusiasts will appreciate Dormehl’s deep dives into CUDA’s origin story and its current role in NVIDIA’s vision. The book also sheds light on some of the company's marquee AI initiatives, making it a worthwhile read for developers. Perhaps most compelling is the portrait of CEO Jensen Huang—a complex, private, and driven figure whose personal history intertwines with NVIDIA’s success. I give it 8 out of 10 stars—well worth the time.


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Want a more casual or more technical version?

From Quake to Revolutionizing the Human Species

One of the most interesting and impressive books when it comes to Jensen Huang, his personal life and background (even though the book could have gone a lot deeper into this), why NVIDIA was created, the very first NV projects like NVLink and the time of being one of the smallest corporations in the industry, to being the industry. To of course Parallel Computing, LLM’s and AI (and why it’s called LLM’s even), from start until this very day today. This book covers nearly every aspect. I don’t know how it could’ve been written better!..

Highly recommended and please enjoy!..

Chronological

I found the chronologically arranged briefs on all those connected with the ‘Thinking Machine’ fascinating, particularly the section on Jenson.

From the days of early 3d graphics in the early 80’s to today’s crazy AI technology.

Takes a very complicated concepts and makes them easily digestible. A close look at a very driven and lucky man. Intelligence was only one piece of the puzzle. Well worth the time.

*the* nvidia book

The author interviewed literally everyone for this book, especially Jensen. If you’re interested in nvidia, this is the book to read

A wonderful book!

I read a lot of books but "The Thinking Machine" by Stephen Witt is the best one I've read in years. It's a biography of nVidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang but it's more than that, it's a concise history of Artificial Intelligence and of a company whose shares have increased in value by 300,000% since it went public in 1999. I highly recommend it.

Generational talent

The pride of some Appalachian reform school, Jensen is the paper clip optimizer of chips. Amazing powers to get unthinkable performance out of chips AND humans. Not by commanding loyalty but by earning it.

anecdotes about an icon

This is a highly enjoyable biography written by an intelligent and humble author. I learned a lot and had fun listening.

A fascinating book on the top dog in AI

I wanted a book that would help me to further understand the AI Revolution and this was exactly what I was looking for. This book gave me a much better understanding of the history of AI, the key players in the industry, and the way in which NVIDIA took over. Jensen Huang, like a lot of successful people, is very difficult to work with, but he seems to be an especially soulless prick. The last chapter of the book reveals a lot about Huang's personality and I'm glad the author included it. However, Jensen is brilliant, extremely driven, and has reached incredible levels of business success, and he's still rising! I highly recommend this book because Huang and NVIDIA are playing a huge role in our world.

A great story of legendary leadership by a visionary

This book is also a very useful primer into the whole AI development journey, from the backrooms of ‘outlier’ scientists to becoming a mainstream element of the global economy and human progress.