On the ground at Nvidia GTC Berlin: Jensen Huang, robot ducks and neocloud distress

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Jensen Huang has been busy.

Nvidia's GTC in Berlin was the grand finale of a week-and-a-half whistle stop European tour. Huang met with world leaders — including U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — announced new products and even spent time talking to small robot ducks on stage.

The Nvidia chief must be tired. At a media Q&A on Thursday morning, he gave reporters an insight into his mantra. Talking about bringing data centers online faster, Huang said: "Try less sleep, which is what I do."

And the trip's not over for Huang. Today, he's in Kazakhstan, touting the country's potential as a major AI hub.

Amid all the activity in Germany, I spent two days in Berlin running around meeting with neocloud execs, investors and data center builders and suppliers. 

Here are the main themes that came up.

Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., presents Microduck, made by Pollen Robotics, during the keynote address at the Nvidia GTC in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Neocloud distress

The final day of the conference came amid a selloff among public neocloud stocks. CoreWeave ended the day down 10% and Nebius dropped 7% by market close. 

It continued a tumultuous period for companies leasing AI compute, with many of their stocks plummeting on concerns over heavy borrowing.

Huang — perhaps unsurprisingly considering Nvidia's sizeable stakes in many of those companies — was more bullish. 

"If you look at the fundamentals, the demand for the neo clouds is off the charts," Huang told CNBC.

Data centers are getting smaller 

Speaking onstage in Berlin, Huang announced a new product that packs seven of Nvidia's Vera Rubin AI racks into a shipping container and is designed to be transported on normal roads. 

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