Jensen Huang promises pay while demanding “torture” at work

Jensen Huang’s – At Computex in Taipei, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told reporters he pays employees “as much as I can,” pointing to a $400,000 bonus deal for eligible workers and SEC data showing the median employee earned $301,233 while Huang’s pay reached $49,866,251. He paired

Jensen Huang’s week in Taipei has been packed with the kind of spectacle that makes audiences lean forward—keynote speeches. new superchips. and a company that has become synonymous with the AI boom. But between product reveals at Computex. the Nvidia CEO turned to something less shiny: how he runs the workplace that sits behind the headlines.

When reporters asked about how Nvidia handles pay and its partnership with Samsung, Huang didn’t dodge the numbers. “I think people should be paid as much as possible,” he said. “I pay my employees as much as I can,” he added.

The question wasn’t theoretical. Nvidia’s recent compensation agreement would give eligible employees $400,000 bonuses. Huang framed it as part of a broader promise: leadership should protect people’s lives as much as it chases technical breakthroughs.

That stance lands with extra force because the pay gap Huang describes comes alongside some stark figures in public filings. A last-year SEC filing noted that the median Nvidia employee made $301,233. Huang’s compensation was $49,866,251—an employee-to-CEO pay ratio of 166:1. The company’s leadership story has also translated into wealth at the top: Fortune reported last year that two senior leadership members became billionaires as Nvidia’s stock price surged.

Huang has acknowledged that effect directly. During a panel last year, he said he’s “created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO in the world,” and he added that he reviews every Nvidia compensation package.

He returned to the same theme of hands-on control when discussing internal spending. “I sort through all 42,000 employees and 100% of the time I increase the company’s spend on [operating expenditure],” Huang said. “The reason for that is because you take care of people, everything else takes care of itself.”.

Yet Huang’s view of “taking care of people” doesn’t come across as gentle. He has been known to be a tough boss, and he previously addressed his management style in an earlier interview with Channel News Asia.

Asked about his “torturing people to greatness” approach. Huang said: “It’s torture the same way that Taiwanese parents torture people. You know, [to] a Taiwanese parent, nothing is ever good enough. And you can’t go a day without some criticism.” He described operating Nvidia with the foundation he said he grew up with.

“You can’t show me something without me giving you some criticism,” Huang said. “I’m always critical of everybody’s work so that I can help them be better.”

For him, the criticism is meant to create room for ambition—not shut it down. “My job is to create an environment where all of these amazing computer scientists and engineers and supply chain experts can come to Nvidia to do their life’s work. ” Huang said. “I think that ultimately the purpose of leadership is to create the conditions for other people to realize their dreams.”.

The contrast—big pay promises on one side. aggressive management language on the other—arrives as markets reward Nvidia’s AI-driven climb. The S&P closed out last month on an all-time high, while only 20 out of 500 companies hit their own records. Analysts have pointed to that pattern as a worrying sign. saying it resembles the dot-com bubble and could indicate an AI bubble.

Nvidia sits at the center of those debates. The company hit a record closing high of $235.74 in mid-May, and the stock market boom has been driven in part by Nvidia.

Off the trading screen, the mood appears more uneven. Even with the broader S&P 500 strength. companies across industries have issued mass layoffs to offset heavy AI spending—from Meta to Standard Chartered. In another recent interview with Channel Asia News, Huang said AI has been used as a “lazy” excuse for layoffs.

Huang has repeatedly argued that AI will change how humans work and create new employment opportunities in the long run. He says he personally works seven days a week to actualize those dreams. “I don’t want Nvidia to fail because we have too many people who are counting on me. ” he said in the recent CNA interview.

Then he delivered a line that feels like the most personal statement in the entire stack of headlines. “I would like to work as long as I can,” he added. “I hope to die on the job. That would be a dream come true.”

The story that emerges from Huang’s comments is a familiar one in high-growth tech. but with a distinctly personal shape: high bonuses and aggressive operating investment paired with a management style he describes as relentless criticism—work hard. earn more. and never accept “good enough.” In a moment when the market is already asking whether AI hype has gone too far. Huang’s answer is simple: he’s pushing for outcomes. and he’s willing to demand the cost up front.

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