"The new Nvidia campus in Israel is a statement - in the USA they understand that we will continue despite everything"
Despite the war and fears of a change in attitude from the US management, the tech giant plans to build a huge campus in the north that will house about ten thousand employees. Amit Krig, CEO of Nvidia Israel, notes that the fear of the situation was definitely there, but reveals how the mobilization of the employees dispelled any doubt from the company's president.
The most important technology company in the world today, the chip giant Nvidia, relies heavily on developments coming from Israel. Since the acquisition of the Israeli company Mellanox, the local development center has become the "beating heart" of the communication infrastructure enabling the global artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. However, the last few years, in the shadow of the war, have presented the CEO of Nvidia Israel, Amit Krig, with unprecedented challenges vis-à-vis the management in the USA.
In an interview on the podcast "Bishvil Israel," Krig reveals the behind-the-scenes of the dramatic decision to build a huge campus in the north, talks about the fear of investors leaving, and explains why high-tech is Israel's most powerful diplomatic weapon.
Despite the pressure and offers from many mayors who tried to attract the technology giant to their areas, Nvidia made a principled decision to stay and expand specifically in the north of the country. Krig reveals the plans for the new campus at the HaAmakim junction, near Highway 6: "It is intended for between eight thousand and ten thousand employees. First of all, it is an iconic building. Those who are familiar with the USA can see a structure that looks like a large spaceship, the size of a stadium. I think that the statement of an iconic structure outside the USA is a very clear statement. We are 'here to stay' in Israel."
It is impossible to separate this huge investment from the security reality. When asked if he feared that Nvidia's management would recalculate its path in light of the war in Israel, Krig does not hide the concerns: "The answer - did I fear? Of course, yes. There is a fear that the situation will lead to a change." However, the reality on the ground and the dedication of the employees changed the picture. "There was a mobilization from within, beyond many reservists, people simply did everything so that we would continue to work. They (in the USA) saw that we continue to work no matter what, we continue to release all things on time. We were not late by a day."
According to Krig, the uncompromising functioning of the local technology industry is much more than just economics - it is a national and diplomatic asset. "Israeli high-tech strengthens Israeli diplomacy, it strengthens the connection between Israel and other countries," he explains.
"I am not sure that the Abraham Accords would have happened if not for Israeli high-tech... I think that it overall strengthened the relationship between the USA and Israel. The best natural resource of the State of Israel is the people."
"We were the first to open back up"
To understand why Nvidia needs the Israeli development center so much, Krig explains the bottleneck of the AI revolution. Models like ChatGPT require tens of thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs) to work together. This is where the technology originally developed at the Israeli Mellanox comes in.
Krig compares it to a road system: "Imagine a road system with a lot of traffic jams, it's impossible, everyone cannot talk to everyone at once. We are actually routing the network in a very, very smart way, if the network is not efficient, you can reach a situation where with ten thousand GPUs, the efficiency is two thousand. Nvidia did this with the network based on Mellanox."
Nvidia's trust in Israel is expressed not only in the future campus at the HaAmakim junction, but also in a strategic decision to reopen the development center in Tel Hai during the war, and to promote employment diversity of populations that are usually excluded from high-tech.
"Of course we closed during the fighting... but we were the first company to open back up, and most of our guys just came back, they love the area," Krig tells with pride, and adds about the integration of the Arab and ultra-Orthodox society: "We opened the hub inside Zarzir to allow them work... We have, of course, female and male engineers, ultra-Orthodox, Jews, Arabs, and Druze."
