'I sit through movies but don't remember them': Life inside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's 24/7 mind, driven by extreme work ethic

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has opened up about the extreme intensity of his work life. In an interview with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, he said, “I work from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. I work seven days a week. When I’m not working, I’m thinking about working… I sit through movies, but I don’t remember them because I’m thinking about work.”

The statement has resurfaced online, going viral, and provides a rare glimpse into the mind of the 62-year-old billionaire who leads the world’s most valuable public company.

A life fully consumed by work
Huang described his work ethic as constant. “Sometimes you’re imagining the future and, boy, if we did this and that. And it’s working. You’re fantasizing, you’re dreaming,” he told Collison. His ambition goes further: “I want to turn Nvidia into one giant AI… How great would that be? And then I’ll have work-life balance.”

Even during downtime, his thoughts revolve around innovation and growth. Huang believes these visions are not idle daydreams but productive exercises that shape Nvidia’s strategy.

From graphics cards to global tech leader
Huang’s intense focus has been instrumental in transforming Nvidia from a graphics-card startup into a global powerhouse. In July 2025, the company reached a record valuation of $4.08 trillion, surpassing the combined worth of Meta and Amazon. Huang credits this success to long hours, dedication, and a culture that prizes relentless focus.

“The thing is, when you want to build something great, it’s not easy to do. And when you’re doing something that’s not easy to do, you’re not always enjoying it,” Huang explained in a separate interview.

The toll on employees
The pressure to perform extends across Nvidia. Former employees report late-night emails, seven-day workweeks, and projects stretching into the early hours. Bloomberg reported engineers staying until 2 a.m. to meet deadlines, often motivated by stock grants.

Huang himself acknowledges that the path to excellence can be grueling. In a 60 Minutes interview, he said, “If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn’t be easy.” Despite the challenges, high compensation and the company’s growth make it hard for employees to step away.

Echoes of other tech leaders
Huang’s approach mirrors the philosophies of Elon Musk, who recently said he is “back to working seven days a week and sleeping in the office.” Musk has long advocated that “nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week.” Huang embodies a similar mindset, where passion and intensity define every waking hour.

Work-life balance and the cost of success
The struggle to balance work and life is not unique to tech. Lior Lewensztain, CEO of That’s It Nutrition, told Fortune, “Even if I am on vacation, you’re on 24 hours a day. You never can really leave.” Former President Barack Obama echoed the sentiment on The Pivot Podcast: “If you want to be excellent at anything—sports, music, business, politics—there’s going to be times of your life when you’re out of balance, where you’re just working and you’re single-minded.”

Lucy Gao, billionaire cofounder of Scale AI, advises Gen Z to choose careers they love enough to embrace that intensity. “I would say that if you feel the need for work-life balance, maybe you’re not in the right work,” she told Fortune.

For Huang, the line between work and life has disappeared entirely. Every moment is devoted to Nvidia’s growth, leaving leisure a distant memory but propelling the company to the pinnacle of global business.