Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AI agents will use software tools, not replace them
Artificial Intelligence will actually expand the utility of software companies, not cannibalise them, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said.
Speaking to CNBC, following Nvidia’s blockbuster fourth-quarter earnings report, Huang argued that markets have misjudged the impact of AI on software firms, and that AI agents will instead utilise existing tools to boost efficiency and productivity.
He denied concerns that AI agents will threaten the enterprise software sector by saying, “I think the markets got it wrong.” Huang, instead, anticipates that agentic AI will be used by a wide range of software companies to develop their software and boost efficiency.
Huang stated, in what he termed ‘counterintuitive,’ that AI agents will not replace, but rather use these software tools. “That’s the reason why we also say agents are tool users,” he was quoted as saying by CNBC.
He pointed to examples like internet browsers and Microsoft Excel, emphasising that these tools will remain essential. “All of these tools that we use today, whether it’s Cadence or Synopsys or ServiceNow or SAP, these tools exist for a fundamentally good reason. These agentic AI will be intelligent software that uses these tools on our behalf and help us be more productive,” he added.
Huang argued that no company is better positioned to provide service than ServiceNow, noting that they will create agents that are really fine-tuned and optimised for the work that leverages the tools that they have.
“In the end, we need the tools to finish their work and put the information back in a way that we can understand,” he said.
The comments come after Nvidia disclosed that its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue increased 73% to $68.13 billion from the previous year, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $66.21 billion.
Looking ahead, Nvidia forecasts revenue of $78 billion (plus or minus 2%) for the fiscal first quarter, significantly higher than analysts’ predictions of $72.6 billion.
