Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a stark warning to European leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, framing the current moment as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" for the continent to secure its place in the AI era or risk permanent irrelevance. Speaking alongside BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink, Huang argued that Europe's traditional weakness in software is offset by its world-class industrial manufacturing base, a combination he sees as a perfect fit for the emerging field of robotics and "physical AI."
Huang's urgency stems from concrete structural challenges. Europe's share of global data center capacity has collapsed from 25% in 2015 to 15% in 2024, hampered by grid constraints and energy costs nearly double those of the United States. Projections for 2026 indicate Europe will add only 750 MW of new data center capacity, a figure Huang warned is insufficient. "I think that it’s fairly certain that you have to get serious about increasing your energy supply," he stated, identifying grid constraints as the real ceiling on European AI ambition.
Despite the challenges, Huang pointed to significant corporate momentum. Major industrial firms like Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, Volvo, and Schaeffler have launched robotics initiatives, with Siemens partnering with Nvidia on what they call the "world’s first fully AI-driven adaptive manufacturing site." On the policy front, the EU's AI Continent Action Plan aims to triple data center capacity within five to seven years, and individual nations have made pledges, including Britain's £1 billion for computing infrastructure and France's framing of data center buildout as a sovereignty issue.
Separately, Huang highlighted the massive, physical infrastructure boom driven by AI, predicting it will create unprecedented demand and high wages for skilled trades. "Plumbers, electricians, and construction workers are going to be able to command six-figure salaries," he said, noting that wages in these fields have already nearly doubled. This demand is fueled by trillions in projected spending on AI data centers, with tech firms committing to over $500 billion in data center leases in the coming years.
The discussion also touched on the global AI labor shift. While Huang and others like Palantir's Alex Karp emphasized opportunity for vocational trades, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned of a "white-collar bloodbath," suggesting up to 50% of entry-level software engineering jobs could be displaced by AI systems.
Geopolitical tensions, particularly regarding China, linger in the background for Nvidia. While export restrictions block its most advanced chips, the company anticipates potential approval to sell its H200 chips in China for commercial use in early 2026, with reported interest from giants like Alibaba and ByteDance for orders exceeding 200,000 units each.
