TAIPEI, June 1 - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang convened senior leaders from South Korea's technology sector for a boisterous dinner on Monday, using the gathering to shore up relationships with key partners as his company gears up for what he described as an "incredibly busy" period for artificial intelligence.
The event, billed as "Korean Partner Night," took place at a traditional Taiwanese restaurant on the sidelines of the Computex trade show. Among those in attendance were SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung and executives from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Naver.
Speaking to reporters at the event, Huang said: "I want to go congratulate them, thank them, and also prepare for the second half of this year. It’s going to be very busy and next year is going to be incredibly busy." He added: "Korea is a critical part of our ecosystem."
The mood at the restaurant was celebratory. Huang moved from table to table raising toasts while chants of "Jensen, Jensen!" rang out. Dozens of fans and reporters gathered outside, and his arrival briefly halted traffic.
Huang routinely hosts dinners for Taiwanese suppliers such as TSMC when he is in town, but Monday's dinner was the first during this visit dedicated specifically to Korean partners, according to attendees at the meal.
Market reactions were visible on Monday as shares in Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and other South Korean technology companies rose amid investor expectations that planned meetings between the U.S. chipmaker and South Korean executives at Computex could lead to fresh collaborations in AI and robotics. The market movements included Nvidia up 4.37 percent, stock code 066570 up 29.86 percent, stock code 000660 up 1.29 percent, stock code 005930 up 10.09 percent, and stock code 035420 up 16.03 percent.
Huang said he planned to travel to South Korea next, likely on Friday, after completing nearly a two-week trip to Taiwan where he was born and where he enjoys extensive popularity. Following the dinner, which featured fried oysters, radish omelette and clams washed down with Taiwan Beer and Korean soju, he told reporters: "We always consider investments in Korea," and described the companies present as "Really smart companies. Very technical."
On ambitions for collaboration, Huang said he hoped to "contribute to robotics in Korea," while declining to confirm whether he would meet with Samsung and SK Hynix during a visit to Seoul.
South Korea has emerged as one of Nvidia's important markets. Last year, Nvidia said it would supply more than 260,000 of its most advanced AI chips to South Korea's government and some of the country's largest companies, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group, as those organisations pursue stronger AI computing capabilities.
Key details:
- The dinner was hosted on the sidelines of Computex and designated "Korean Partner Night."
- Attendees included SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung and executives from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Naver.
- Nvidia and several South Korean tech stocks registered gains amid investor expectations of deeper AI and robotics partnerships.