The Operating System
26 Ecosystem Principle

Build a Network, Not a Moat

Huang rejects the moat metaphor, saying the point is to make everyone else more successful on your platform.

I don't love thinking about it in the context of a moat. The reason for that is because you're now focused on building stuff around your castle. I tend to like thinking about things in the context of building a network.

Asked about Nvidia’s defensibility on the Acquired podcast (October 2023), Huang turned the question around. A moat keeps people out. A network pulls people in, and the company that sits at its center benefits when everyone connected to it does well.

In practice. Nvidia’s Inception program for startups lists free courses, discounted workshops, SDK access, preferred pricing, cloud credits and introductions to venture investors. On the Q3 FY2026 earnings call (19 November 2025), Huang described Nvidia’s investments as aimed at “expanding the reach of our ecosystem,” according to Yahoo Finance’s report.

The critique. CUDA lock-in is the obvious one. A network that nobody can easily leave is functionally a moat, whatever you call it, and regulators have noticed.

Doesn’t transfer as a softer word for lock-in. The useful lesson is to make partners richer on your platform. Once you dominate, a network nobody can afford to leave looks like a moat from outside, and regulators are asking about it.

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