He praised SK hynix, an affiliate of SK Group, as a major player in global AI development and announced plans to use its memory in Nvidia's next-generation robotics processors.
"I’d like to announce a long-term partnership with SK, we've been friends and partners with SK for a very long time," Huang said. "SK is the largest memory department. Without SK's partnership, today's AI would have not developed as wonderfully as it has."
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said the two companies will jointly build future "AI factories" which includes AI data centers as well as SK hynix's fabrication plants and elevate their collaboration from a simple supplier relationship to a comprehensive, group-wide partnership to meet surging infrastructure demands.
Beyond its dominance in AI data centers, Nvidia is aggressively expanding its hardware ecosystem, with Huang highlighting four new products: the Vera Rubin AI supercomputer, the Vera CPU, the RTX Spark for AI PCs, and the Jetson Thor robotics processor. He also confirmed that the tightly bound partnership will extend into this new frontier of physical AI.
"We build a processor called Jetson Thor, and Jetson Thor will have SK hynix inside of it," Huang said, putting an end to speculation about hardware partners for Nvidia's push into the robotics sector.
He praised South Korea's readiness for this next technological wave, citing the country's robust manufacturing sector and deep pool of AI talent. "The age of physical AI has finally arrived. And no country is prepared for robotics than [South] Korea," he said.
But it remains to be seen what impact their closer cooperation will have on other chipmakers. When asked by AJP whether the strengthened partnership with SK implies reduced reliance on other South Korean memory makers, Huang declined to answer.
When asked what constitutes South Korea's strongest asset, Huang pointed to the country's comprehensive tech ecosystem, pointing out that its advancement in software and science is so deep that South Korea has become one of the leading contributors to global AI.
"South Korea is world class in many factors, but South Korea has many advantages," Huang said. Highlighting South Korea’s rapid technological evolution, he added, "The basic combination creates a perfect environment for South Korea to take advantage of the AI revolution."
At the gathering, Huang enthusiastically praised an SK hynix high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip as "the best," a public endorsement that highlights the formidable alliance between the two and signals potential impacts on the wider semiconductor supply chain.
Meanwhile, their growing alliance appears to remain robust, as SK hynix's revenue linked to Nvidia reached about 7.78 trillion won (US$5.66 billion) in the first quarter alone, cementing SK hynix as Nvidia's largest single memory supplier, according to the latest financial data.
The high-profile alliance with SK hynix stood in stark contrast to the absence of its rival, Samsung Electronics. Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong, who was on an overseas trip, was unable to attend last night’s reunion gathering, following a similar event last fall.
But still Huang is unlikely to overlook the world's largest memory chipmaker. When asked by AJP about plans to meet Samsung's chief and executives, he said, "I'm looking forward to meeting YH tomorrow," referring to Jun Young-hyun, the newly appointed head of Samsung's semiconductor division.
According to multiple industry sources, Huang and Jun are reportedly scheduled to have a private meeting at The Hotel Shilla in central Seoul before Huang's departure.
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