These days, wherever Jensen Huang goes, crowds chant his name and scramble for selfies and autographs.
He is not your usual celebrity – rather, the 61-year-old electrical engineer is the chief executive of Nvidia, the chip powerhouse whose value just surged past $3tn (£2.3tn), briefly overtaking Apple as the world’s second-most valuable company, before pulling back.
“He is literally being treated like a rock star,” says technology analyst Bob O’Donnell. “Jensen sees this opportunity to build on Nvidia. He’s obviously enjoying the moment.”
His new-found status, complete with an embossed $9,000 Tom Ford biker jacket, was on display this week at Computex in Taiwan – the annual tech conference draws the world’s biggest companies to the island.
Mr Huang, who was born in Taiwan but left when he was just five years old, posed for countless pictures and even scrawled his name on a woman’s top at the conference, wondering aloud if this was a “good idea”. It was, in the words of local media, pure “Jensanity”.
This comes as US regulators are reportedly planning to open an investigation into big tech, including Nvidia, over its dominance over the AI industry.
The interest Mr Huang has stirred has not been lost on his peers – Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, responding to a social media follower who did not know who Mr Huang was, described him as “Taylor Swift, but for tech”.
What is driving the ‘Jensanity’?
Mr Huang is at the forefront of a technology boom, and his rise has coincided with Nvidia’s emergence as the leading designer of AI chips.
Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC is the sole production partner for Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI chips. And Nvidia’s success has been a boost for TSMC, whose shares hit a record high on Thursday.
High-end chips, including those used for AI, have become a source of geopolitcial tension as the US and China race to master production. But it’s Taiwan that currently sits at the top of that game – it makes nearly all of the world’s most advanced chips.
All of this has generated a lot of buzz around Mr Huang and the company he founded decades ago. His success is also a matter of pride for Taiwan, a self-ruled island which Beijing claims.
As those claims have become more aggressive, Taiwan’s chip exports have both become a lifeline and a tool of soft power.
“In Taiwan, he’s also the local boy done good. That is something people can rally around,” Mr O’Donnell said.
Although he lives in Santa Clara in California where Nvidia is headquartered, Mr Huang frequently visits Taiwan. He has always emphasised that Nvidia would continue investing in the island.
Just this week, he told reporters that the company plans to build regional headquarters in Taiwan, which is welcome news for the island. It has been concerned about chip production moving overseas as manufacturers look for alternative supply routes that would be safe in case of a Chinese invasion.
And of course, there is the success of Nvidia itself. Shares have gone up by more than 200% over the last year.
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The firm has been catapulted into tech stardom as AI and the chips that power it become as cool as any fancy new gadget.
Mr Huang knows this well. He has been fronting Nvidia’s chip launches and they have been likened to massively-watched Apple events.
In Taiwan, where he launched new products, he spoke for two hours about the company’s history.
“Nvidia’s last big conference in San Jose was in a stadium. It was jam-packed and huge lines of people couldn’t get in. It was like a rock concert,” Mr O’Donnell said.
“This time, he spoke in a sports stadium in Taiwan. I joked that he was on his arena tour.”
What do we know about Jensen Huang?
For one, Mr Huang loves his leather jackets. He credits his wife and daughter for making it his signature style.
A spokesperson from Nvidia says he been wearing one for more than two decades now. His latest pick from Tom Ford is from the fashion house’s 2023 season – and he has kept it on even during visits to humid Singapore.
“Leather jackets can signal an edge: a willingness to break rules, do things differently and challenge the status quo,” says fashion stylist Sera Murphy.
“Jensen’s signature style gives him a casual, approachable energy,” she adds.
Signature styles are not uncommon among tech CEOs. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was known for the outfit he wore all the time – black St. Croix mock turtleneck sweater, blue Levi’s 501 jeans, and New Balance 991 trainers. Mr Zuckerberg is usually in plain sweaters and t-shirts from luxury fashion brands.
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