Nvidia's Huang dismisses fears AI will replace software tools as stock selloff deepens

By Nilutpal Timsina and Shivani Tanna

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Nvidia NVDA.O CEO Jensen Huang dismissed fears that artificial intelligence will replace software and related tools, calling the idea "illogical", after a significant selloff in global software stocks on Tuesday.

The selloff, partly sparked by AI developer Anthropic's updated chatbot release last week that heightened fears of AI-driven disruption in the data and professional services industry, broadened on Wednesday, hitting software stocks in India, Japan and China.

Speaking at an artificial intelligence conference in San Francisco hosted by Cisco Systems CSCO.O Huang said worries that AI will make software companies less relevant are misguided and AI will continue to rely on existing software rather than rebuild basic tools from scratch.

"There's this notion that the tool in the software industry is in decline, and will be replaced by AI ... It is the most illogical thing in the world, and time will prove itself," Huang said.

"If you were a human or robot, artificial, general robotics, would you use tools or reinvent tools? The answer, obviously, is to use tools ... That's why the latest breakthroughs in AI are about tool use, because the tools are designed to be explicit."

Shares of Indian IT exporters .NIFTYIT slumped 6.3% on Wednesday, tracking losses in global software stocks. Tech services firm Infosys INY.NS was among the biggest losers, plunging 7.3%.

China's CSI Software Services Index .CSI930601 also fell 3%, while in Hong Kong, shares of software company Kingdee International Software Group 0268.HK tumbled more than 13%.

In Japan, staffing agency Recruit Holdings 6098.T and Nomura Research 4307.T tumbled 9% and 8%, respectively.