Jensen Huang: The Monopolist

He turned Nvidia into the first $5 trillion company in the world

FEW IN THE history of capitalism can claim to have done what Jensen Huang has managed to achieve. It is not just that Nvidia, the company he founded 32 years ago and of which he is still CEO, has become the first ever to touch US$5 trillion. That is just the natural corollary to what Nvidia stands for in the eyes of investors buying its shares. Huang has built a company primed for a near-monopoly on the future of humanity. If the next decades are going to be the era of artificial intelligence, then the supply of the silicon chips, or graphical processing units (GPUs) required to process the data that feeds all of it is almost entirely dominated by Nvidia at present.

It was not even a given. When Huang started the company, it was to make GPUs for gaming, which required parallel processing that the chips specialise in. Nvidia was just one more player in a crowded field then and was even on the verge of closing initially in 1996. Once the sector got consolidated, its GPUs were the main ones driving gaming in computers. It then found application in scientific research where large amounts of data needed to be processed. Huang had not even anticipated it being the fulcrum for AI advances but once he realised the potential, he pivoted to focus Nvidia's entire resources on it. From then on, it took just a decade for it to become the most valuable company in the world. Nvidia has also been taking strategic equity stakes in major AI companies in return for services and products, further bolstering its role in the future of AI. (By Madhavankutty Pillai)

MK Stalin: The Stamp of Stalinism

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin slammed the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, calling it a “cloak-anddagger plot” to silence the poor, minorities, and women. According to Stalin, the move cleverly masquerades as administrative upkeep but paves a slippery slope towards voter suppression.

Stalin’s resistance feels less like defending democracy and more like defending the status quo. And the irony is unmistakable: a state that rails against bogus voters now insists their deletion is undemocratic.

Ideas

Compensations

Last month, Abdul Wahid Shaikh, who was one of 12 individuals acquitted from the charge of being involved in the 2006 Mumbai trains blasts by the Bombay High Court earlier this year, approached the National and Maharashtra State Human Rights Commissions seeking compensation. Shaikh, who had spent over nine years in jail, wants to be compensated Rs 9 crore for what he called “irreparable loss” to his liberty, dignity, and life trajectory. Pleas like this aren’t all that rare in India. Conviction rates are abysmal, and many often spend years in jail, before the courts finally acquit them. Occasionally, someone like Shaikh will file a claim for compensation citing miscarriage of justice and wrongful imprisonment, and while these pleas can also take their own time, the court or the concerned authority will sometimes even rule in their favour. The Supreme Court appears to have taken cognisance of this matter now. It has clubbed together three separate cases of individuals who had spent years on death row and were seeking compensation after their acquittal, and asked the attorney general and solicitor general to assist the court in examining whether such individuals are constitutionally entitled to compensation for violation of their right to life and personal liberty. Bringing about a framework for such compensations will probably help guard against police overreach and ensure innocent individuals are not made scapegoats. But, given the poor conviction rates in the country, it could also open up the doors for many claims of compensation.

Money Mantra

Reit Sizing

The smart guide to investing in property

THE DAWN OF Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) has democratised access to India’s commercial real estate market, allowing retail investors to own a slice of premium office parks and shopping malls without the hassle of direct ownership. But with a growing number of options, how does one choose the best REIT? The key lies in looking beyond the dividend yield and conducting a multi-faceted analysis.

First and foremost, scrutinise the asset quality and portfolio. A REIT is only as strong as the properties it holds. Focus on the location, grade, and tenant profile of its assets. Prime REITs own Grade-A offices in established micro-markets like Bengaluru’s ORR or Mumbai’s BKC, leased to high-credit-quality tenants, typically multinational corporations. A diversified tenant base across sectors like IT, BFSI, and engineering mitigates risk, ensuring stable rental income even if one sector faces a downturn.

Next, evaluate the sponsor’s pedigree. The reputation and financial strength of the sponsoring entity (like Embassy, Mindspace, or Brookfield) are crucial. A strong sponsor not only brings high-quality assets to the table but also has the expertise to manage them efficiently and the financial muscle to undertake future acquisitions, which is a primary growth driver for REITs.

Crucially, delve into the financial metrics. Look at the Net Operating Income (NOI) and the occupancy rate—consistent occupancy above 95 per cent is a hallmark of a resilient REIT. Analyse the debtto-asset ratio; a conservative leverage profile (typically under 25 per cent) provides a cushion against market volatility. Finally, assess the Distribution Per Unit (DPU) and its growth trajectory. A steady or growing DPU indicates a healthy, income-generating machine. The best REIT is a blend of prime, income-generating assets, a reputable sponsor with a clear growth pipeline, and robust financial health. By focusing on these core pillars, investors can move beyond speculation and build a foundation for stable, long-term returns from India’s evolving real estate story. (By Moinak Mitra)

Ideas

Death and Corruption

When a retired chief financial officer of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, who had lost his 34-year-old daughter in September, posted on LinkedIn about being hounded for bribes by government bodies in Bengaluru, it struck a chord. K Sivakumar wrote that from the crematorium to the municipality to the police, at every turn, money was demanded from him for receipts and copies of documents like FIR and the postmortem report. There was online outrage at the corruption he experienced and, even though Sivakumar deleted his post, screenshots started to get shared across platforms. One X user got over 7.5 lakh views after he posted it and commented, “Imagine losing your only child and then paying a bribe for her death certificate. Stuff like this makes you lose faith in humanity.” Another wrote, “Even in grief, he was forced to pay bribes for the ambulance, police, BBMP, and crematorium. This is not just corruption, it’s cruelty. Action must be taken against every officer involved.”