Jensen Huang's Mother Taught Him English Even Though She Didn't Speak Any, Here's How It Helped Develop The Mindset That 'Defines' Today's Nvidia
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NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang says his mother shaped one of his defining leadership instincts by teaching him English with a dictionary, even though she did not speak the language herself.
Huang Credits Mother For Core Mindset
Speaking at the Cambridge Union in November 2025, Huang said his mother used "a piece of paper and a dictionary" to prepare him before he moved to the United States as a child. Huang was born in Taiwan and was sent to the U.S. when he was 9 for better educational opportunities, Business Insider reported. His mother, a Taiwanese Hokkien speaker, began teaching him English before he left.
"My mom taught me English, and she doesn't speak English," Huang said, adding, "In a lot of ways, that kind of defines Nvidia, kind of defines me. I approach almost everything from the perspective of, How hard can it be?"
Dictionary Lessons Became Leadership Lessons
Huang has said that his mindset helped him build Nvidia into the world's most valuable company. Nvidia's market capitalization stood at roughly $5.77 trillion on Friday.
Huang has also acknowledged that if he had truly known how "insanely hard" it would be to build Nvidia, he might not have started it. The 63-year-old believes entrepreneurs must sometimes "trick your brain" into believing a challenge is not as difficult as it really is.
In a 2018 CNBC interview with ‘Mad Money’ host Jim Cramer, Huang said his mother picked 10 random words from the dictionary each day and asked her sons to spell them and explain their meanings, even though she could not verify whether they were right. "But nonetheless, my father's dream [and] my mom's aspirations for our success [are] what ultimately put us here," he said.
Nvidia Culture Reflects Huang's Approach
At Cambridge, Huang also said his mother told him he was "special," teaching him the power of high expectations. "If people tell you that you're better, greater, more capable than you are, you might live up to that expectation," he said.
Huang has carried that philosophy into Nvidia's management culture. He keeps a flat structure, has dozens of direct reports and avoids traditional one-on-one meetings. He also favors group problem-solving and open information flow.
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