NVIDIA was named in 1993 after the Latin word for envy. Sure enough(果然，不出所料), the American colossus(巨人，巨头) inspires plenty of it. Insatiable global demand for its graphics-processing units(图形处理器) (GPUs), the chips that power artificial intelligence, has made Nvidia the world’s most valuable company, worth $5.4trn. Next year it may also become the most profitable, generating $370bn in net income(净利润). By 2029 its sales could hit $1trn.
英伟达于1993年以拉丁语中表示“嫉妒”的词命名。果然，这家美国巨头令人艳羡不已。全球对其图形处理器（GPU）——驱动人工智能的芯片——的需求无法满足，使英伟达成为全球市值最高的公司，价值5.4万亿美元。明年它还可能成为最赚钱的公司，实现3700亿美元的净利润。到2029年，其销售额可能达到1万亿美元。
Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s boss, is truly the magician(魔术师，魔法师) at the heart of(在…的核心) the AI boom. His firm’s share price is 14 times what it was on ChatGPT’s release in late 2022. The ten biggest public companies championing(支持，拥护) AI make up 40% of the value of the S&P 500 index(标普500指数，美国股市基准). Nvidia alone accounts for(占（比例），解释) 8% and unlike, say, Apple or Tesla(不像，比如说，苹果或特斯拉), which make smartphones and cars, it is almost solely a bet on AI. The company has produced about 15 cents of every dollar the American stock market has returned since 2023—returns that have kept consumers spending despite rising interest rates, tariffs and a war with Iran.(自2023年以来，美国股市每回报1美元，英伟达就贡献约15美分——这些回报让消费者在利率上升、关税和对伊朗的战争下仍持续消费。)
英伟达的老板黄仁勋，确实是人工智能热潮核心的魔术师。他的公司股价是2022年底ChatGPT发布时的14倍。十家最大的支持人工智能的上市公司占标普500指数市值的40%。仅英伟达就占8%，而且不像苹果或特斯拉那样制造智能手机和汽车，它几乎完全是对人工智能的押注。自2023年以来，美国股市每回报1美元，英伟达就贡献了约15美分——这些回报让消费者在利率上升、关税和对伊朗的战争的情况下仍持续消费。
Yet many also see Mr Huang as a magician in a more worrying sense, fearing that he is an illusionist(幻术师，魔术师) inflating(使膨胀，抬高) a dangerous bubble. Through $1trn-worth of deals, Nvidia provides data-centre landlords and AI labs with cash or guarantees so that they can buy its GPUs. Some call it the “bank of AI”. At the very least, Nvidia’s critics say, its financial engineering smacks of the “vendor financing” which pumped up the revenues of networking-gear makers like Cisco in the dotcom mania of 2000-01, whose collapse brought about a recession.(至少，英伟达的批评者说，其金融工程带有“供应商融资”的味道，这种融资在2000-01年的互联网狂热中推高了思科等网络设备制造商的收入，而它们的崩溃导致了经济衰退。)
然而，许多人也在更令人担忧的意义上视黄仁勋为魔术师，担心他是一个吹大危险泡沫的幻术师。通过价值1万亿美元的交易，英伟达向数据中心房东和人工智能实验室提供现金或担保，以便他们能购买其GPU。有人称之为“人工智能银行”。至少，英伟达的批评者说，其金融工程带有“供应商融资”的味道，这种融资在2000-01年的互联网狂热中推高了思科等网络设备制造商的收入，而它们的崩溃导致了经济衰退。