Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Loses $20.1 Billion as DeepSeek AI Disrupts Tech Industry

Jensen Huang Loses $20.1 Billion as Nvidia Takes a Hit Amid DeepSeek’s AI Disruption

Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang suffered a major blow to his finances on January 27, 2025, as his wealth plummeted due to the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup. Even as he is among the richest men on earth, Huang saw his net worth decline by $20.1 billion, placing it at $101 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index reported. That was the “biggest single-day loss of value for any public company in history,” according to Forbes.

Huang cofounded Nvidia in 1993 and currently holds about 3.4% of the company. The tech giant, which has been a leader in AI and chip manufacturing, took a severe hit, with shares plummeting by 17%, leading to a $600 billion loss in market capitalization. This downturn is particularly sharp, as Nvidia had recently surpassed a $3 trillion market cap just last summer. While Huang’s wealth took the biggest knock against other billionaires, Oracle’s Larry Ellison also lost $22.6 billion, with his net worth now standing at $186 billion.

DeepSeek: The AI innovation that shook Silicon Valley

DeepSeek’s disruptive technology, which has been called “AI’s Sputnik moment” by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. The AI startup has introduced a product claimed to be cheaper and more efficient than competitors. Since its launch, DeepSeek’s app became the most downloaded free app in the United States, raising alarm bells among investors and leading to a massive sell-off in U.S. tech stocks.

The emergence of DeepSeek has created a buzz around the future of companies like OpenAI, and according to William Falcon, the CEO of Lightning AI, “if DeepSeek’s models turn out to be highly capable and affordable, then companies will stop using OpenAI at scale, which might shake the valuation of various tech firms.”

Nvidia Recognizes the Impact of DeepSeek in the Tech World

Despite the blow it dealt to the stock price of Nvidia, the company has taken notice of how DeepSeek affected the AI sector. According to an Nvidia spokesperson, “DeepSeek is a great AI innovation and an excellent example of test-time scaling.” The spokesperson added that DeepSeek’s work highlights how new AI models can be developed by making use of models that are widely available and compute resources, all without violating export control regulations.

As DeepSeek’s story unfolds and its success grows, this new AI player will be closely monitored by Nvidia and other tech giant companies in how it will change the market and change their valuations.

Source : Fortune

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