This year, Jensen Huang, the Chief Executive Officer of Nvidia Corporation, had a meeting with his competitor at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to discuss supply issues concerning AI chips, which pose a significant challenge to the upcoming artificial intelligence boom in 2023.
During a press briefing in Taipei, Huang mentioned that the heads of the two leading chip companies globally convened for a dinner meeting to address the role of the Japanese company in producing Nvidia chips, which are the primary components driving most advanced AI training systems worldwide. Morris Chang, a prominent entrepreneur and the founder of TSMC, also joined Huang and CEO C.C. Wei for breakfast on Wednesday.
Huang’s visit to Taipei occurred shortly after his first trip to mainland China in four years, following the US government’s prohibition of Nvidia’s high-end cards sale to a political adversary. While Huang’s visit to China was relatively low-key, he openly discussed the critical role of Taiwan and TSMC in Nvidia’s operations and the broader semiconductor sector during his statements on Thursday.
Prior to commencing the company’s annual regional festivities, Huang emphasized, “Scaling the capabilities of AI is undeniably the most significant challenge in the field of artificial intelligence.” He highlighted the diligent efforts of all supply chain partners, particularly TSMC, in meeting the escalating demands.
He further remarked, “This year is poised to be remarkable.”
When queried about the firm’s activities in China, Huang chose not to comment. However, he cautioned that heightened US sanctions could potentially compel local enterprises to develop their own alternatives to curb the distribution of AI training chips to China, which could adversely impact American tech giants in the long term. Notably, Huang has ties with Huawei Technologies Co., which caused a stir in Washington by introducing an innovative Chinese-manufactured CPU in a smartphone, posing a potential challenge in 2023.
Investors have shown confidence in Nvidia’s industry leadership this year, leading to a more than threefold increase in the company’s market value primarily due to its pivotal role in advancing AI technologies. Nvidia asserts that the semiconductors it supplies to China comply with US regulations.
The AI upsurge is driving growth at TSMC. The company anticipates a surge in capital expenditure and robust revenue growth in the upcoming weeks, which likely triggered a widespread surge in industry stocks.
Huang, a Taiwan native, is revered as a prominent figure in an island economy heavily reliant on technology and electronics. He is often seen frequenting local establishments covered in the media, and this week, he shared an image of himself enjoying noodles.
Huang underscored Taiwan’s significance as a key market during his remarks on Thursday.
He stated, “Taiwan is pivotal in this because it’s a renaissance of the system business. TSMC, along with Taiwan’s ecosystem of program developers, will play a crucial role in this new era of computing.”
