Jensen Huang is the CEO of Nvidia ( NVDA 4.45%), a company whose chips power the vast majority of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. At a technology conference last year, Huang made a bold declaration: "The next wave of AI is here. Robotics, powered by physical AI, will revolutionize industries."

U.S. stock indexes slipped on Thursday as Wall Street’s weak end to last year carried into 2025. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to extend the four-day losing streak that dimmed the close of its stellar 2024. The index pinballed through the day between an early gain of 0.

A soft finish to 2024 still left stocks with a second straight stellar year. The S&P 500 logged a 23.3% gain, which follows a 24% rise in 2023. The combined gains of more than 53% was the largest two-year percentage jump for the index since year-end 1998,