Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, claims that China can build major AI data centers in days
Published on Dec 15, 2025 at 10:20 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Dec 15, 2025 at 10:20 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claims China has a huge advantage over the US when it comes to building AI data centers, saying that the country can construct huge facilities in just days.
Nvidia’s chips have allowed AI technology to scale up at an impressive rate.
Earlier this year, the American company became the first to surpass a $4 trillion valuation, before quickly going on to top that with a $5 trillion valuation.
Recent reports suggest it could become the world’s first $10 trillion company, but now its CEO has somewhat of a warning for the US.
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Nvidia says China can build data centers much faster
Nvidia CEO Huang said that when it comes to artificial intelligence, his company is ‘generations ahead’ of its counterparts.
However, he did highlight a couple of areas where he thinks China could perform far better than the US.
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Huang suggested that when it comes to construction and energy capacity, China is ahead of America.
He said that building large-scale facilities, such as AI data centers, can take years in America but could be finished in days in China.
“If you want to build a data centre here in the United States, from breaking ground to standing up an AI supercomputer is probably about three years,” he said.
“[China] can build a hospital in a weekend.”
He also raised concerns about energy availability, adding that China has ‘twice as much energy as we have as a nation, and our economy is larger than theirs’.
Nvidia, which is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is one of a handful of tech giants that has invested heavily in new data centers in the US as AI technology becomes more widespread.
Huang believes China will ‘win the AI race’
Last month, Huang hit headlines after reportedly saying that he believed China would ‘win the AI race’.
Shortly after, the CEO quickly issued a revised statement backtracking on the reported comments but seemed to warn against complacency.
“As I have long said, China is nanoseconds behind America in AI,” he said.
“It’s vital that America wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide.”
He made similar comments more recently, saying that ‘anybody who thinks China can’t manufacture is missing a big idea’.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
