Jensen Huang wants America to continue attracting global talent. The Nvidia CEO said the country’s ability to draw researchers, entrepreneurs and builders from around the world is one of its main strengths, helping it create new companies and technologies.
Huang discussed immigration on the BG2 podcast, where host Brad Gerstner noted that five of the six people who recently appeared onstage at the White House for the National Medal of Science were born outside the US. Huang was among them and had attended the ceremony with his parents.
“We want all of the world’s great minds to come here, bring their great ideas, you know, make them realize them here,” Huang said during an appearance on the BG2 podcast. However, he acknowledged that immigration requires rules and a balance between different concerns. “And so we have to do it lawfully; you have to do it rightfully,” he added.
Huang said America’s ability to attract researchers, entrepreneurs and builders from other countries remains one of its main strengths, helping it create new businesses, inventions and technologies. The Nvidia CEO’s comments come after the Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six other technology companies from the Permanent Labor Certification programme, known as PERM. The programme allows employers to sponsor skilled international workers for permanent US residency. Vice President JD Vance accused the companies of misusing the immigration system and replacing American employees with lower-cost foreign workers.
Gerstner noted that Huang arrived in the US before his parents, who joined him several years later. Huang was born in Taiwan and spent part of his childhood in Thailand before moving to America. His personal history influenced his description of immigration as an American advantage. He argued that people want to build their lives in the country because it provides freedom, opportunity and support for new ideas.
“This is America’s superpower, right?” Huang said. “In a lot of ways, the intellectual property creation capability of our nation is unlike anything else in the world. And the reason for that is we attract the world’s best.” Intellectual property includes inventions, software, designs and other original work that can lead to new products or businesses. Huang said attracting people with ideas helps the United States continue producing such work.
Huang also pointed to the country’s business culture, which he said encourages people to believe difficult projects are possible.
“In the United States, everything is possible, right?” he said. “We start with, of course, it’s possible; of course, we could do that.” He contrasted this attitude with places where people may begin by explaining why an idea cannot work. According to Huang, America’s “spirit of invention and entrepreneurialism” and its “can-do attitude” help attract people who want to establish companies or pursue research.
Huang described the flow of ideas and intellectual property into the country as something the world had not previously seen. However, he said the system supporting that movement remained sensitive. “It’s a really delicate system. It’s a delicate balance,” he said. His position supports continued legal immigration while recognising that it must operate through established rules. Huang argued that maintaining this flow of talent would help the United States preserve the culture and cycle of invention that allowed immigrants, including himself, to build businesses there.
