Recently, Nvidia founder Huang Renxun appeared in Hong Kong to attend the 2024 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Honorary Doctoral Degree Awarding Ceremony. Huang Renxun was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in engineering and delivered a speech, discussing the transformation and prospects of artificial intelligence, and mentioning two major trends: robots and AI agents.
Huang Renxun said that artificial intelligence is sparking a scientific revolution, opening up a new era of computing that will affect every scientific field and industry. "I am pleased to see so much energy invested in the progress of AI science, and I am happy to see AI driving scientific progress at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and even throughout China
He emphasized that due to the new breakthroughs in physical artificial intelligence, investment in robotics technology is surging in the heavy industry and manufacturing sectors. With the rapid development of cognitive intelligence basic models and physical intelligence basic models, the era of robots is approaching.
After the award ceremony, in a conversation with Shen Xiangyang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huang Renxun specifically pointed out that there are three types of robots that are expected to achieve large-scale production in the future, and almost only these three types are possible. Other types of robots that have appeared in history are difficult to achieve large-scale production. These three types of robots are: cars, drones, and humanoid robots.
He believes that because we have built a world adapted to cars, cars can become candidates for mass production; Drones demonstrate enormous production potential due to their ability to freely soar in almost unrestricted skies; Humanoid robots, on the other hand, have created a world that is fully adapted to human survival, providing unique conditions for the large-scale production of humanoid robots. "The largest output will be humanoid robots, because we have built a world for ourselves
Huang Renxun said that large-scale production is crucial because it can drive the flywheel effect of technology. High investment research and development (R&D) can bring technological breakthroughs, thereby producing better products and further promoting the expansion of production scale.
In addition, he also mentioned the unique advantages of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area on a global scale. He pointed out that the Greater Bay Area is the only region that possesses both electromechanical technology and artificial intelligence technology, providing unique conditions for the development of the robotics industry. The other two strong countries in the electromechanical industry are Japan and Germany, but they have obvious shortcomings in artificial intelligence technology and urgently need to increase investment to catch up. "Here (in the Greater Bay Area), we have a unique opportunity, and I will seize this opportunity tightly
Regarding AI Agents, Huang Renxun said, "Enterprises and companies around the world are competing to adopt artificial intelligence to accelerate innovation and improve productivity. Soon, AI Agents will be integrated into every team in the company, including marketing, sales, supply chain, chip design, software development, and other departments
Currently, the two men with the greatest influence in the tech industry are unanimously optimistic about humanoid robots.
Huang Renxun has always been a fan of humanoid robots. In an interview in June this year, Huang Renxun compared the popularity of cars with the future spread of humanoid robots. He predicts that humanoid robots will become as popular as cars in the future, and he also expects significant progress in robotics technology in the next two to three years. "I think in 100 years, we will see humanoid robots everywhere
Regarding this interview video, Musk agrees with Huang Renxun's statement and also said, "Their (humanoid robots) popularity will be 10 times higher than that of cars
In June, Musk also expressed his thoughts during a live broadcast, predicting that the number of humanoid robots in the world would one day exceed the human population. "I believe that in the long run, the ratio of humans to humanoid robots will exceed 1:1. That is to say, one person may have two or more humanoid robots," he said
Just last week, Tesla CEO Musk introduced his pricing vision for Optimus robots and Robotaxi smart taxis, claiming that Tesla is currently striving to provide consumers with corresponding products at low prices. Musk claimed that Optimus will be offered at a price of $20000 to $30000, while Robotaxi will also be priced at around $30000. These two products are expected to be officially launched to consumers within 2 years, but it is also possible to delay until 2027 or even 2030 depending on specific circumstances. In addition, Musk stated that in order to achieve a balance between product prices and sales, Optimus robots and Robotaxi intelligent driving taxis need to have an annual production capacity of over 1 million to ensure user affordability and investor returns.