TIME Magazine has released its list of the 100 most influential people in AI for 2026. One notable name is missing: Jensen Huang, whose company has arguably done more than any other to fuel the AI boom.
Nvidia originally built its graphics processing units, or GPUs, for video games back in the early 1990s. Two decades later, AI researchers discovered that these chips could handle the massive computing workloads needed to train neural networks, the technology behind tools like ChatGPT and Claude. Nvidia had unintentionally created the core building block of modern AI, and that discovery turned it into the most valuable company in history.
Nvidia’s Outsized Role in the AI Boom
Without Nvidia’s chips, today’s AI boom likely wouldn’t exist. The company’s revenue for the second fiscal quarter of this year reached $96.2 billion, more than double what it earned during the same period last year. Nvidia’s chips have become so essential to global tech infrastructure that they now serve as a key bargaining chip in the AI competition between the U.S. and China. Both the Biden and Trump administrations have restricted their export to Chinese buyers.
Nvidia also appears repeatedly in the circular financing deals that have powered AI infrastructure growth over the past few years. That pattern has led some observers to nickname the company the “central bank of AI.”
Who Made the List — and Who Didn’t
Given Nvidia’s influence, many expected to see Huang listed alongside figures like Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Dario Amodei, all of whom appear in TIME’s “Leaders” category this year. Huang didn’t make the cut. Neither did Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg or Demis Hassabis, the Nobel laureate and recently departed CEO of DeepMind. All three had appeared on TIME’s 2025 “Person of the Year” list, which honored what the magazine called the “architects of AI.”
Actor and director Ben Affleck did make this year’s list. In 2022, he founded InterPositive, a company that builds AI-powered post-production tools trained on filmmakers’ own content. Netflix acquired the company earlier this year for a reported $587 million. Paris Hilton was also included, recognized for her advocacy against nonconsensual sexual deepfakes.
How TIME Selected the List
TIME senior editor Ayesha Javed curated this year’s list. According to a statement published Thursday by editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs, Javed spent months working with TIME journalists and contributors to identify 100 people who best represent the year’s major AI storylines and who, in the magazine’s view, are driving the most influence in the field.
What the Omission Says About the List
Lists like this one rarely offer a complete picture of an industry. Like any award, TIME’s ranking reveals as much about the publication’s priorities as it does about the people included. It makes sense that a mainstream outlet would spotlight pop culture figures over infrastructure leaders at companies like Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC. Still, those “picks and shovels” companies — not the celebrities — remain the real power brokers behind the AI industry.
