Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Mark Zuckerberg: I would have dropped out of college, if I had known …

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage for a candid and humours conversation. The tech titans shared their thoughts on the future on generative AI and the long road to building tech empires. In a lighthearted moment, Huang joked that if he had known how long it would take to succeed, the he might have followed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s oath and dropped out of college early. “If I had known it was going to take so long to succeed… I would've dropped out of college just like you,” Huang quipped, drawing laughter from the audience and Zuckerberg himself.

Mutual admiration and playful banter

The discussion involving Huang and Zuckerberg spanned around decades of innovation. The discussion started with Zuckerberg praising Huang’s role in powering the AI revolution. “It’s all you—you kind of made this happen,” Zuckerberg said, referring to Nvidia’s dominance in AI infrastructure.



Responding to Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang said, “Why thank you… CEOs, we're delicate flowers,” poking fun at the need for appreciation even at the top.

Along with this, the two tech leaders also joked about aging and appearances. “We’re pretty grizzled at this point,” Zuckerberg said. “I think we’re the two longest-standing founders in the industry.” Huang agreed, noting his gray hair while Zuckerberg commented on his curls.

Nvidia’s journey from $200 startup to $5 trillion company

Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 with just the investment of $200. He launched the company on his 30th birthday which was later joined by co-founders Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. Nvidia started with a mission to advance 3D graphics. The breakthrough came in 1999 with the invention of the GPU, a technology that transformed computing.

Fast forward to October 2025, Nvidia has entered the $5 trillion club. The chip maker managed to reach the market valuation of $5 trillion in just three months after crossing $ 4 trillion. This growth in Nvidia's market value suggest the escalating momentum in AI adoption across industries. Shares of Nvidia rose more than 4%, pushing its market capitalisation. Nvidia ranks ahead of Microsoft ($4 trillion) and Apple ($3.9 trillion), as well as Google parent Alphabet ($3.2 trillion), Amazon ($2.4 trillion) and Meta ($1.8 trillion).

Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room to trillion-dollar empire

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s journey started from his dorm room in Harvard in 2004, from where he started Facebook. He famously dropped out in 2005 to focus on the company, turning down his father’s offer to invest in a McDonald’s franchise. Today, Meta is valued at $1.6 trillion.