Jensen Huang, born in 1963 in Taiwan, is today one of the most prominent leaders in the technology industry as the chief executive of Nvidia, a company specialising in the development of artificial intelligence chips. He moved to the US West Coast at the age of nine, where he later completed a degree in electrical engineering at Oregon State University, followed by a master's degree at Stanford.
Before co-founding Nvidia in 1993 with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, Huang gained experience working at AMD. Nvidia initially produced graphics chips for computer games, but over time shifted its focus to artificial intelligence, becoming a market leader. Its first customer for AI technology was OpenAI, to which Huang donated hardware while the organisation had only 30 employees.
Nvidia is now worth approximately $4.5 trillion, and Huang's personal fortune is estimated at $155 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Despite its financial success, the company faces challenges in the Chinese market, where Nvidia's share has fallen from around 95 per cent to near zero due to US export controls introduced in 2022. Huang is actively involved in diplomatic efforts between Washington and Beijing, seeking to ease tensions in the technology sector.
In a political context, Huang maintains close relations with Donald Trump, who praised him at a recent artificial intelligence summit at the White House, attended by Elon Musk. Trump highlighted the importance of AI technology in global competition, stating that "whoever wins in AI, wins". However, after reports emerged regarding an investigation linked to Huang's alleged personal relationships, Trump said he had not spoken with him.
On a personal level, Huang is married to Lori, whom he met at Oregon State University, where she was his laboratory partner. They married in 1985 and have two children, Madison and Spencer. Together, they founded the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation in 2007. Nvidia's board has expressed confidence in Huang's leadership despite reports about his personal situation, and sources consider his removal from the head of the company unlikely due to his financial influence and the lack of a clear successor.
