Quantum computing shares soared on Wednesday after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said the industry was at inflection point.
Speaking at Nvidia’s GTC Paris developer conference, Huang said he expects quantum computing to solve real-world problems in the next couple of years.
Rigetti Computing shares jumped 14%, and Quantum Computing Inc. surged 30%.
Huang’s comments were in sharp contrast with a speech in January in which he said that useful quantum computers would be many years away. His dramatic change in tack will be music to the ears of quantum bulls who have recently cheered commercial progress by companies such as D-Wave.
AI Infrastructure
While the biggest market reaction to Huang’s Paris speech can be found in quantum shares, the bulk of his keynote was centred around AI infrastructure and the deployment of Nvidia’s Blackwell systems across Europe.
Nvidia partnered up with the Viva Technology conference to deliver GTC Paris, and the chip maker used the opportunity to announce several new AI infrastructure projects, including plans to build an AI Cloud with French AI firm Mistral and an AI factory in Germany.
“Every industrial revolution begins with infrastructure. AI is the essential infrastructure of our time, just as electricity and the internet once were,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.
“With bold leadership from Europe’s governments and industries, AI will drive transformative innovation and prosperity for generations to come.”
Huang’s delivery in Paris came days after he headlined London Tech Week, saying the UK was in a goldilocks position and revealing that Nvidia would help establish an AI training centre in the UK. Nvidia also announced several partnerships with UK firms.