Only in America

Tom Siebel, founder and CEO of C3 AI, joins Condoleezza Rice for a wide-ranging conversation on innovation, resilience, and the enduring promise of the American experiment. Siebel recounts how his time as a history student at the University of Illinois shaped his entrepreneurial instincts as well as the calculated risks he took to launch one of Silicon Valley's most influential enterprise software companies. He explains why America's education system, commitment to liberty, and culture of opportunity remain the foundation of its success. 

Rice and Siebel explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, from increasing the efficiency of government services to democratizing lifesaving and productivity-enhancing practical knowledge. Siebel also discusses what two serious personal hardships—a harrowing elephant attack and the sudden loss of his vision—have taught him about resilience and reinvention. 

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Indra Nooyi is today recognized as one of the most respected business leaders in the world. The former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo holds 15 honorary degrees, currently serves on the board of Amazon, and is the author of a New York Times bestseller, My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future. But this success came as a result of many years of disciplined, hard work by Nooyi across roles, industries, and continents. In conversation with Condoleezza Rice, Nooyi reflects on her Only in America story and the values it has instilled in her. Rice speaks with Nooyi about immigrating to the United States; her graduate studies at Yale and early business career; how she rose to leadership at PepsiCo; the importance of innovation to economic growth; what is distinctive about American culture and society; and why she is grateful to be part of the American story.

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Today, NVIDIA is widely recognized as one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. But when founder and CEO Jensen Huang set out to build the company more than three decades ago, it was considered an extraordinarily risky bet on a new approach to computing. How did Huang, an immigrant from working-class roots in Taiwan, build NVIDIA into a company at the center of the AI revolution, and could he have done so anywhere other than the United States?

In this episode of Only in America, Condoleezza Rice sits down with Huang at NVIDIA’s Silicon Valley headquarters to explore the experiences, opportunities, and institutions that shaped his remarkable journey. Huang reflects on coming to America as a child, the culture of ambition and innovation that influenced him, the vision that led him to found NVIDIA, and the perseverance required to navigate years of uncertainty and skepticism.

Their conversation also examines the future of artificial intelligence, America’s role in advancing technological innovation, and the conditions that make breakthrough achievements possible. Throughout, Huang reflects on why he believes his story, and NVIDIA’s, could only have happened in America.

Learn more by visiting: hoover.org/only-in-america

Hosted by Director Condoleezza Rice, Only in America is a new documentary interview series featuring some of the nation’s most accomplished innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and business leaders. Through deeply personal conversations, guests reflect on the role that freedom, opportunity, risk-taking, and American institutions played in their journeys. The inaugural season features NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang; former PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi; entrepreneur and software pioneer Tom Siebel; General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra; renowned computer scientist and AI leader Fei-Fei Li; and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Despite their diverse backgrounds and fields of achievement, each offers a unique perspective on the opportunities, values, and institutions that enabled their success.

Watch the series trailer here.