Nvidia CEO says his mother taught him English even though he didn't speak the language: 'That tells you everything'

Jensen Huang, the CEO and one of the founders of the world's most valuable company, says that success starts at home and learning English from his mother is one of the lessons he brought with him into his career and business, reports Business Insider.

In a lecture this week at the Cambridge Union, the debating society of the prestigious British university, the Nvidia CEO recounted how his mother encouraged him as a child. That mindset has stuck with him, and he says he always remembers to apply the same approach to his company.

“My mother taught me English, and she doesn't speak English,” Huang said. “And that tells you everything,” he told the Cambridge University students.

Huang was born in Taiwan and his family moved to Thailand before he and his older brother were sent to the US for a better education. Jensen Huang was 9 years old when he was sent away from his family to study.

He said that his mother started teaching him English to prepare him for the move to the US and that she used “a piece of paper and a dictionary” to teach him and his brother, even though she couldn't even read English.

“In many ways, that defines Nvidia, it defines me,” he said. “I approach almost everything from the perspective of, 'How hard can it be?'” he emphasized.

Huang rose to the helm of a company valued at $5 trillion

Huang co-founded the chip company in 1993 and went public in 1999. Amid Wall Street's huge enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Nvidia in late October became the first company in history to surpass the $5 trillion (5 trillion) market capitalization mark.

Huang, an unconventional CEO among those who lead large companies, is known for promoting open and honest communication and his involved management style. In comments made earlier this year, he said that despite Nvidia's exponential growth, he still reviews employee pay to make sure everyone is being properly compensated.

He himself became one of the world's richest people after Nvidia's share price soared, with Huang's fortune estimated by Bloomberg at more than $160 billion.

Huang also told the Cambridge students that things can be “very difficult” in life and listed examples like being a CEO for the first time, raising funds for Nvidia, or writing a business plan – things he said he had never done before before founding the company.

“Staying in the game is actually the biggest part of being successful,” he said. “I was able to do what I do today because I didn't get bored and I didn't get fired. I think that was the magic, everything. It's 100% of it,” he stressed.