Key Points
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is visiting South Korea for business and political talks. He plans to meet with key suppliers and potentially discuss HBM development.
- Nvidia might announce new infrastructure deals and investments in AI factories.
- Huang’s visit coincides with the Trump-Xi meeting, making geopolitics a major focus.
- The future of Nvidia’s advanced chips in the lucrative Chinese market is a key topic of discussion.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is making a significant trip to South Korea, a crucial market for his company. This visit comes just before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Huang’s schedule promises a blend of business and political engagements, including a potential meeting with Trump and discussions with top executives from South Korean powerhouses like Samsung and SK Group. People are also eagerly awaiting any hints about Nvidia’s future in the Chinese market.
South Korea hosts SK Hynix, a key Nvidia supplier that develops high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a specialized semiconductor essential to Nvidia’s advanced AI systems. Huang expects to meet with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, whose company owns SK Hynix.
This meeting could pave the way for future HBM advancements. Samsung also makes HBM, but Nvidia hasn’t certified its product yet. Huang mentioned he would meet with Samsung, suggesting discussions about their HBM progress.
Huang has been on a global tour this year, and these trips often lead to announcements of new infrastructure deals. Nvidia typically outlines how it will supply its sought-after graphics processing unit-based products for data center projects. At a recent developers’ conference in Washington, Huang revealed Nvidia’s partnerships with Samsung and Hyundai, including investments in “AI factories”—essentially data centers.
SK Telecom, another part of SK Group, is currently building data centers in South Korea, and Bloomberg reported that Nvidia plans to supply its chips to them. Nvidia might also announce plans for driverless cars and robotics, a big focus for South Korea’s tech industry.
Geopolitics will play a major role in Huang’s trip, as it coincides with the Trump-Xi meeting. Trump, calling Huang “an incredible guy” at the APEC Summit, said he would meet the CEO on Wednesday. This week could offer crucial insights into Nvidia’s standing in China.
The U.S. had previously banned Nvidia from exporting its AI chips to China, but the Trump administration lifted these restrictions earlier this year. However, despite being allowed to export its less powerful H20 chip, Beijing has reportedly urged local companies to buy domestic alternatives.
Trump hinted on Wednesday that Nvidia’s most advanced Blackwell AI processors, currently banned from export to China, could be a topic with Xi. George Chen of The Asia Group believes Trump sees nearly everything as a business opportunity. China might seek assurances that U.S. chips won’t contain location trackers, while the U.S. could have its own demands, making Nvidia a bargaining chip for the two presidents.
Chinese regulators previously raised concerns about the security of Nvidia’s chips. Being shut out of China, a massive market, has already cost Nvidia billions. Any re-opening of the Chinese market would be a big win for the chipmaker.
