Even for a seasoned keynote pro like Jensen Huang, there’s always the risk that things don’t go fully to plan.
The Nvidia CEO opened the company’s Berlin conference on Wednesday to make the case that Europe should build its own AI economy — complete with AI factories, autonomous agents, and robots.
But the pitch was interrupted about 20 minutes into the keynote by protesters holding a Greenpeace banner reading, “Nvidia, clean your dirty business!”
One protester shouted: “Clean up your act! What about the technology that was found in Russian drones? Those were Nvidia chips. What are you doing about that? What are you doing about the environmental destruction?”
The protester appeared to be referring to an August statement from Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, which said it had identified an Nvidia Jetson Orin computer module in a Russian S-71 Monochrome cruise missile. The agency did not allege that Nvidia knowingly supplied the component to Russia.
Greenpeace said in a press release that it’s calling on Nvidia to extend its 100% renewable energy target across its wider supply chain and to conduct audits to ensure its technology doesn’t end up in military equipment. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comments.
As security escorted the protester away, Huang said, “Give her a chance,” and that “everybody has a chance to say something.” He then told the applauding crowd: “All important issues … but let me get through my keynote.”
Huang, after joking that he had to “torture” the audience with “some education” before “the entertainment,” then pressed on with Nvidia’s pitch for Europe’s AI future. He unveiled DSX POD, a modular system for AI factories, and promoted OpenShell, a platform designed to help companies run autonomous AI agents securely.
‘Pay attention!’
The entertainment came near the end of the keynote, when Huang brought four small robots, known as Microducks, from French startup Pollen Robotics onstage.
The demo was charming, but not entirely obedient.
When Huang told the robots to “take a nap,” one kept walking before eventually falling alongside the others. Later, only two appeared to perform a somersault when he asked them to.
Another robot lingered farther away from the group and tripped before getting back up. “Pay attention! Stay focused. Come here, come here. Stay focused,” Huang told it. It eventually approached and sat down, drawing laughter from the audience.
Huang then closed the event with an AI-generated video of robots singing in a Eurovision-style contest.
The demo came a day after Huang told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Europe could not regulate its way to technological leadership.
“There’s nothing to regulate if the industry doesn’t thrive,” Huang told Merz.
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