Greenpeace Disrupts Nvidia’s European AI Push, Then Robots Steal the Show
Greenpeace Disrupts Nvidia’s European AI Push, Then Robots Steal the Show
Jensen Huang arrived in Berlin on Wednesday with a blunt message for Europe’s lagging AI sector: build the computing backbone now, or surrender the next industrial race. Nvidia’s chief executive urged European companies to move faster and pitched a modular system intended to speed construction of the high-capacity data centres developers say the continent lacks.
About 20 minutes into his keynote, Greenpeace forced a different question onto the stage. Protesters unfurled a banner reading, “Nvidia, clean your dirty business!” and one challenged Huang over the environmental impact of AI hardware and reports that Nvidia components had been identified in Russian weaponry.
The intervention drew on an August statement by Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence saying an Nvidia Jetson Orin computer module had been found in a Russian S-71 Monochrome cruise missile. The agency did not accuse Nvidia of knowingly supplying it. Greenpeace, meanwhile, called for Nvidia to extend its 100% renewable-energy target through its supply chain and audit whether its technology reaches military equipment.
Huang did not dismiss the protest outright. As security removed the demonstrator, he said, “Give her a chance,” adding that the concerns were “all important issues” — before insisting, “let me get through my keynote.” Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He returned to the sales pitch, unveiling DSX POD, a modular AI-factory system, and promoting OpenShell for securely running autonomous AI agents. The day before, Huang had also warned German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Europe could not regulate its way to technology leadership: “There’s nothing to regulate if the industry doesn’t thrive.”
The tense policy clash gave way to comic relief at the finale. Four Microducks robots from France’s Pollen Robotics shuffled onstage; one ignored orders to nap, another tripped, and Huang pleaded, “Pay attention! Stay focused.” The audience laughed — a lighter ending to a keynote shadowed by a far heavier argument over who should bear AI’s costs.
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