Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, emphasized the special relationship with Korea by mentioning his long-standing connection with the late Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Electronics, at the 25th anniversary event of NVIDIA's gaming graphics processing unit (GPU) 'GeForce' launched in Korea on the 30th.

On this day, CEO Huang took the stage at the 'GeForce Gamer Festival' held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, along with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, stating, “In 1996, I received a very beautiful letter from someone unknown in Korea.”

He revealed, “The letter said, ‘I have three visions for Korea,’” which included ‘connecting all Koreans with broadband internet,’ ‘transforming Korea’s technology through video games,’ and ‘holding the first video game Olympics.’

CEO Huang emphasized, “That letter was sent by Lee Jae-yong’s father (the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee). That is why I came to Korea,” adding, “All those visions have become a reality. Please know that Korea was the heart of our company.”

Chairman Lee and Chairman Chung had a ‘chimaek meeting’ (a combination of chicken and beer) with CEO Huang near Samseong Station at Kkanbu Chicken. During the meeting, the three showcased their camaraderie by doing a ‘love shot.’ Just before concluding the meeting, Chairman Lee, Chairman Chung, and CEO Huang came out holding chicken bowls and distributed them to citizens. Initially, the GeForce stage speech was scheduled as a solo event for CEO Huang, but it is reported that the two chairmen willingly agreed to accompany him.

Chairman Lee, who took the stage with CEO Huang, joked to the audience taking pictures, “Why are there so many iPhones?”

He continued, “I sincerely congratulate the successful 25th anniversary event of GeForce,” and revealed, “25 years ago, NVIDIA launched the ‘GeForce 256’ using Samsung Electronics’ GDDR (graphics DRAM).”

He emphasized, “That was when the cooperation between the two companies began, and my friendship with Jensen started. There have been ups and downs, but NVIDIA is an important customer and strategic partner for Samsung.”

He further praised, “Jensen is the greatest innovator and entrepreneur of this era. Above all, he is truly charming as a person,” adding, “He is a friend with dreams, guts, warmth, and affection.”

Chairman Lee and CEO Huang also exchanged jokes. When CEO Huang said, “When we first made GDDR, you (Chairman Lee) were a young child,” Chairman Lee responded, “Young and arrogant,” causing the audience to burst into laughter.

Chairman Chung began by saying, “I am the youngest here,” and continued, “I have been playing arcade games since I was young, and my child loves the game League of Legends (LOL) so much that we played together. Of course, there would be NVIDIA chips inside.”

He added, “In the future, NVIDIA chips will enter cars and robotics, and we will cooperate more with them,” and promised, “We will make it possible to play more games in cars.”

CEO Huang stated, “I came to celebrate a new era in Korea and promised not to spoil the surprise for President Lee Jae-myung,” adding, “There will be a very big announcement tomorrow.” In a Q&A session with journalists and citizens, he explained, “To give you a hint, the news is related to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.”

CEO Huang will be a special session speaker at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit held in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, on the 31st. According to business circles, it is reported that the event will announce the strengthening of the private semiconductor alliance between Korea and the U.S., including supplying semiconductors to Hyundai Motor. There is also a possibility of announcing cooperation plans, such as NVIDIA supplying its AI semiconductors to domestic companies and procuring memory semiconductors like high-bandwidth memory (HBM), DRAM, and NAND flash from Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix.

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