* Born in Tainan, Taiwan, on February 17, 1963
* Moved to Thailand with his family at the age of five* Moved to the US at a young age. Attended Oregon State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
* Completed a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University
* Family: Huang is married and has two children
Discover the stories of your interest
* Martial arts: Huang said both his children are trained in martial arts
* Hobbies: Outside of work, Huang is known to be a passionate gamer and a fan of science fiction
* Favourite Indian food: Chicken biryani
* Leadership style: Huang is often described as a visionary leader with a strong focus on innovation and a culture of excellence
* Unofficial corporate motto: Huang has said that he used to open staff presentations with the message “our company is 30 days from going out of business”. This phrase is now the company’s unofficial corporate motto
* Philanthropy: Huang and Nvidia have been involved in various philanthropic initiatives, including supporting education and STEM programmes
Founding Nvidia:
* Co-founded Nvidia Corporation in 1993 with Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky
* Before that, he worked as a dishwasher and waiter at an eatery called Denny’s from 1978 to 1983
* Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade was joined by Huang in September last year to unveil a plaque at the Silicon Valley Denny’s where Nvidia’s founders hatched their idea for a chip that would enable realistic 3D graphics on personal computers
* Huang has served as the company’s president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors since its inception
* Pioneered accelerated computing and the development of graphics processing units (GPUs)
Nvidia’s success:
* Under Huang’s leadership, Nvidia has become a leading provider of GPUs for gaming, professional visualisation and artificial intelligence (AI)
* The company’s GPUs have played a crucial role in the growth of the PC gaming market and the development of AI applications
* Nvidia has been recognised for its innovative technology and has received numerous awards, including the prestigious IEEE Founder’s Medal
Personal net worth:
* Huang’s net worth is estimated to be around $122.5 billion, making him one of the world’s wealthiest individuals
* He owns approximately 3% of Nvidia’s shares
* The Santa Clara, California-based company briefly dethroned Apple as the world’s most valuable company on Friday
* Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched $3.53 trillion, while that of Apple was $3.52 trillion, according to data from LSEG
* Huang says he uses tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity to play with GenAI in his spare time
Legacy:
* Huang is widely considered one of the most influential figures in the technology industry
* His vision and leadership have helped to shape the future of computing and AI
* Nvidia’s success under his guidance has solidified the company’s position as a global leader in the semiconductor industry
Iconic quotes by Huang:
On AI and its impact:
* “Software is eating the world, but AI is going to eat software.”
* “Virtual reality, all the AI work we do, all the robotics work we do—we’re as close to realising science fiction as it gets.”
On innovation and technology:
* “The future is not coming. The future is here.”
* “I learn about AI from AI.”
On his personal journey:
* “I’m the product of my parents’ dreams and aspirations.”
* “Without intellectual honesty, you can’t have a culture that’s willing to tolerate failure.”
Huang and Lisa Su:
Huang and Lisa Su are cousins and the CEOs of two major semiconductor companies. Lisa Su joined Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in 2012 and became its CEO in 2014. She’s known for revitalising AMD with successful product lines like Radeon GPUs and Ryzen CPUs.
Family relationship: Huang’s mother is the youngest sister of Su’s maternal grandfather, making them first cousins, once removed.
Industry collaboration: Huang has embraced Su as a family member and partner in the industry, not a competitor. He once said, “No! We’re family. We’re all in the industry. We buy from AMD!”
