Artificial intelligence (AI) helps boost green investments, Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said in Taipei on Thursday as he was presented with a five-tier cake from Greenpeace bearing the message “AI needs renewable energy.”
Huang arrived in Taiwan last week to attend the Nvidia GTC Taipei conference and the Computex Taipei trade show.
The message on the cake was a reference to comments Huang made in a talk with Center for Strategic and International Studies president John Hamre last year.
Photo courtesy of the Greenpeace
AI is a five-layer cake from energy at the bottom up through chips, infrastructure, models and application, he said.
On March 10 in an article published on Nvidia’s Web site, he wrote that energy is the first principle of AI infrastructure and sets the ceiling on “how much intelligence can be produced.”
After he was presented with the cake from Greenpeace, Huang said that “AI is the best way to invest in renewable energy.”
Asked whether he would invest in green energy with Nvidia’s supply chain partners in Taiwan, Huang said that market forces would draw investments into renewables “because the demand for energy is so high.”
Greenpeace yesterday said that the interaction with Huang was the first time it had asked the firm about its commitment to green investments, adding that it expects to establish a dialogue mechanism with Nvidia.
Nvidia is building its Taiwan headquarters at Shilin-Beitou Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), while it is collaborating with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co to construct an AI data center in Kaohsiung, it said.
Such investments in Taiwan must comply with electricity regulations, Greenpeace said, calling on Nvidia to promote 100 percent use of renewable energy across its supply chain.
Nvidia should also invest in local renewables and energy storage facilities to help build energy resilience for Taiwan’s AI sector, it said.
Lena Chang (張皪心), Greenpeace East Asia’s climate and energy campaigner, said that Huang’s positive attitude toward investing in renewables is inspiring.
Nvidia is a leading company in the AI sector with a market capitalization of more than US$5 trillion, Chang said.
It is a primary customer of many supply chain giants, of which 10 have their manufacturing bases in Taiwan, she said.
They include Hon Hai, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, ASE Technology Holding Co and Micron Memory Taiwan Co, she said.
Tech giants such as Google and Apple Inc already require green commitments from their supply chain partners, Chang said.
Nvidia has such great influence that it must mobilize its suppliers to jointly reach 100 percent renewable energy use in their operations, she added.
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