Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang dismissed concerns that advances in artificial intelligence will render traditional software tools obsolete, calling that expectation "illogical" as software stocks suffered further losses across multiple markets.
Speaking at an artificial intelligence conference in San Francisco hosted by Cisco Systems, Huang argued that AI will build on existing software rather than attempting to replace or rebuild basic tools from the ground up. "There’s this notion that the tool in the software industry is in decline, and will be replaced by AI ... It is the most illogical thing in the world, and time will prove itself," he said. He added: "If you were a human or robot, artificial, general robotics, would you use tools or reinvent tools? The answer, obviously, is to use tools ... That’s why the latest breakthroughs in AI are about tool use, because the tools are designed to be explicit."
The remarks came as global software equities faced renewed selling pressure that broadened on Wednesday. The rout was partly traced to an updated chatbot release last week from AI developer Anthropic, which heightened investor concern about AI-driven disruption in data and professional services.
Market moves were notable by region. Indian IT exporters collectively fell 6.3% on Wednesday, with tech services firm Infosys among the largest losers after plunging 7.3%. In China, the CSI Software Services Index dropped 3%. In Hong Kong, shares of software company Kingdee International Software Group tumbled more than 13%. In Japan, staffing and related firms were hit, with Recruit Holdings and Nomura Research falling 9% and 8%, respectively.
Huang framed AI as a technology that leverages and interacts with software tools rather than rendering them redundant. His comments emphasized a continuity between existing software infrastructure and new AI capabilities, in contrast to views that see AI as a wholesale replacement for software products and services.
Investors and market participants will continue to assess how product releases and technological advances influence sentiment toward software and related technology services across different markets. For now, the selloff underscored heightened sensitivity to AI developments and their potential impact on companies that provide software and services to enterprises and professionals.