The AI Interview: Michael Kagan, CTO at NVIDIA
NVIDIA CTO Michael Kagan explains how AI factories, open models and physical AI are reshaping enterprise infrastructure and the future of computing
TL;DR
- Michael Kagan, CTO at NVIDIA, has been involved in three major computing upheavals and is now central to the AI revolution.
- He co-founded Mellanox, a high-speed data center networking company, which was later acquired by NVIDIA.
- Kagan distinguishes AI factories from data centers, stating that AI factories manufacture intelligence.
- The demand for computing in AI has outpaced Moore's Law, necessitating a move beyond single chips.
- AI factories are judged by their efficiency in converting data and energy into tokens, with a distinction between training and inference.
- Kagan advocates for open AI models for customization and believes both open and proprietary models will coexist.
- He suggests that every enterprise will need its own AI factory, tailored to its specific needs.
- NVIDIA views AI as a five-layer cake, with applications being the most crucial for revenue generation.
- Kagan is passionate about AI's potential in healthcare and the development of physical AI, which will require significant computing power.
- He disagrees with calls to slow down AI development, arguing that acceleration is key to making AI safe.
- NVIDIA is developing safeguards like OpenShell for AI agents.
- Kagan foresees AI becoming the foundation of personal computing and compares its current status to that of electricity as critical infrastructure.