Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: I am not ambitious, I just want to…

Despite leading the world's most valuable company with a $4.4 trillion market cap, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang operates in constant fear of failure. In a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the 62-year-old executive revealed he works seven days a week in a perpetual "state of anxiety" about the company going bankrupt."I'm not ambitious, I just want to stay alive," Huang told host Joe Rogan, explaining his 33-year mantra of running Nvidia as if it's "30 days from going out of business." The co-founder, who has led the chipmaker since 1993, said this feeling of vulnerability "doesn't leave you" despite the company's recent milestone of becoming the first public firm to reach a $5 trillion valuation in October.Huang's unconventional leadership approach stems from near-death experiences in the 1990s when Nvidia faced bankruptcy multiple times. He recalled flying to Japan to inform Sega that a contracted graphics chip was flawed and the deal should be canceled, while simultaneously admitting Nvidia needed the final $5 million payment to survive. Sega converted the funds into an investment, providing the lifeline that kept the company afloat."I have a greater drive from not wanting to fail than the drive of wanting to succeed," Huang explained. The CEO maintains his intense work schedule by waking at 4 a.m. daily to read emails for hours, processing several thousand messages each day. This routine continues through holidays including Thanksgiving and Christmas.Huang's relentless work ethic has influenced his family, with both adult children Madison and Spencer working at Nvidia seven days a week. The siblings, who are in their 30s, initially pursued different careers before joining the company as interns in 2020 and 2022.Nvidia reported record revenue of $57 billion for its third quarter, driven by surging demand for AI chips that power technology from Microsoft, OpenAI and Meta. However, Huang told Rogan that scale hasn't changed his mindset: "The sense of vulnerability, the sense of uncertainty, the sense of insecurity—it doesn't leave you."