1. What you'll lose1/5

   Quantum stocks plunged the next day.

2. Condescension0/5

   Offhand.

3. Tone-deafness2/5

   An industry's timeline, set from another industry's stage.

4. Doom0/5

   None.

5. Hypocrisy0/5

   None.

Full time3 pitchforksof a possible 25

The occasion

Nvidia financial analyst Q&A at CES 2025, Las Vegas, 7 January 2025.

Context

Asked about quantum computing at Nvidia's analyst day, Huang said that 15 years for 'very useful quantum computers' would probably be on the early side, and 20 was a timeline many would accept. He added that Nvidia would play a 'very significant part' in helping the industry get there. (Reuters and CNBC word the 15-year part slightly differently, so only the sentences both print identically are quoted.)

Crowd reaction

Critical commentary

Market backlash more than public outrage. Rigetti, D-Wave, Quantum Computing and IonQ fell by more than 40% in a day and, per Reuters, were set to lose more than $8 billion in value; Reuters says the remark 'throws cold water' on the sector. An analyst quoted by CNBC called the sell-off somewhat 'overblown', and a Craig-Hallum analyst quoted by Reuters argued that investors were missing a key part of the equation. This is the weakest of the included backlashes: no social-media or editorial pile-on was found, only the sell-off and analyst pushback.

See the reaction

• CNBC (via NBC 7 San Diego): Quantum stocks like Rigetti plunge after Nvidia's Huang says the computers are 15 to 30 years away
• Reuters (via The Star, Malaysia): Quantum computing stocks take a hit as Nvidia CEO predicts long road ahead
• Tom's Hardware: Quantum computing stocks tank as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang predicts the tech won't be viable for another 20 years — stocks fell more than 40% for a total market value loss of over $8 billion
• Where the exact words are printed