Tech stocks including Amplitude, Freshworks, HubSpot, GoDaddy, and Paylocity soared Thursday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed fears that AI would cannibalize enterprise software. The rally came during afternoon trading, with high-growth names like Zscaler and CrowdStrike also rebounding as investors reassessed the 'AI headwind' narrative that had previously pressured valuations.

Huang's comments on CNBC acted as a powerful catalyst, arguing the market 'got it wrong' about AI's impact on platforms like ServiceNow. He emphasized that established software companies are uniquely positioned to deploy fine-tuned AI agents using their existing specialized tools. This shift in sentiment was reflected across the tech sector, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF surging 2.4% as investors bought back into beaten-down software stocks.

Among the biggest winners, Amplitude jumped 8.7%, Freshworks rose 7.5%, HubSpot gained 8%, GoDaddy climbed 7.1%, and Paylocity increased 7.9%. The moves came as a relief rally across the market, fueled by positive economic data including a beat on consumer confidence. For Amplitude specifically, today's move represents meaningful news but not a fundamental business change, particularly notable given the company's shares are down 33.4% year-to-date and trading 45.2% below their 52-week high.