HONG KONG, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Nvidia ( NVDA ) CEO Jensen

Huang told graduates and academics that "the age of AI has

started" in a speech on Saturday, after receiving an honorary

doctorate degree in engineering from the Hong Kong University of

Science and Technology.

The head of the world's leading maker of chips used for

artificial intelligence applications received the award

alongside actor Tony Leung, Nobel Prize for Chemistry winner

Prof. Michael Levitt and Fields Medallist Prof. David Mumford.

"The age of AI has started. A new computing era that will

impact every industry and every field of science," said Huang.

He said Nvidia ( NVDA ) has "reinvented computing and sparked a new

industrial revolution," 25 years after inventing the graphics

processing unit.

"AI is certainly the most important technology of our time,

and potentially of all times."

Huang, 61, also told graduates that he wished he had started

his career at this time.

"The whole world is reset. You're at the starting lines with

everybody else. An industry is being reinvented. You now have

the instruments, the instruments necessary to advance science in

so many different fields," Huang said.

"The greatest challenges of our time, unimaginable

challenges to overcome in the past, all of a sudden seem

possible to tackle."

In the afternoon, Huang will participate in a fireside chat

with the university's Council Chairman Harry Sham, teachers and

students.