Nvidia CEO teases 'delightful' announcement amid discussions of potential contracts with major Korean firms

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Nvidia CEO teases 'delightful' announcement amid discussions of potential contracts with major Korean firms

Published: 29 Oct. 2025, 12:50 Updated: 29 Oct. 2025, 14:36

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Nvidia President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks to the media during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Oct. 28 in Washington, D.C. [GETTY IMAGES/YONHAP]

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Tuesday that a new announcement, likely to “delight” the Korean public, will be made during his upcoming visit to Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang for the APEC CEO Summit, as he discussed potential contracts with major Korean firms.

Speaking to reporters at the GPU Technology Conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Huang was asked about potential partnerships between Nvidia and Korean conglomerates such as Samsung, SK, Hyundai and LG.

“If you just look across the entire Korean ecosystem, every one of the companies — [they] are very deep friends of mine and very good partners,” he said without going into specifics. “When I go, hopefully we’ll have some announcements that will be really, really delightful to the people of Korea and really delightful to President Trump.”

Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Huang plans to unveil new AI chip supply contracts with firms, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, as he vies to deepen ties with Korea, a major supplier of memory chips.

Possible Samsung-Nvidia cooperation

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, right, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang talk during a Korea-U.S. business roundtable at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

This will be Huang's first visit to Korea in 15 years, fueling speculation that a surprise announcement may accompany the trip. Samsung Electronics is preparing for mass production of its sixth-generation high bandwidth memory and is awaiting Nvidia's quality verification test results. Given that Samsung has also focused on supplying its 12-layer HBM3E chips to Nvidia, an announcement regarding expanded cooperation between Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Huang could emerge during the visit.

Hyundai Motor Group formed a strategic partnership with Nvidia earlier this year for mobility innovation.

Huang spoke fondly of Korea’s tech scene, noting its early role in gaming culture as he reflected on Nvidia’s early roots in video games. He said Korea had been at the forefront of introducing PC gaming, internet cafes and esports, and he added that he was eager to visit again, given the country’s pioneering influence on Nvidia’s beginnings.

China and U.S. tech policy

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the Live Keynote Pregame during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 28. [AFP/YONHAP]

When asked about U.S.-China technology tensions, Huang said, “We want America to win this AI race. No doubt about that.”

“We want the world to be built on an American tech stack,” he said. “But we also need to be in China to win their developers. A policy that causes America to lose half of the world's AI developers is not beneficial long term — it hurts us more.”

He added that Nvidia hopes to re-enter the Chinese market, but for now, Beijing has made it “very clear that they don't want Nvidia to be there right now.”

“I hope that will change in the future because I think China is a very important market,” he said.

Nvidia’s latest AI chip architecture, Blackwell, cannot currently be exported to China due to U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductor technology.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks on how AI infrastructure and AI factories that generate intelligence at scale are powering a new industrial revolution, at the Washington Convention Center on Oct. 28 in Washington, D.C. [AP/YONHAP]

Huang also voiced support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” manufacturing agenda.

“We are manufacturing in America again. It is incredible,” Huang said. “The first thing that President Trump asked me for [was] to bring manufacturing back. Bring manufacturing back because it’s necessary for national security. Bring manufacturing back because we want the jobs. We want that part of the economy.

“Everything — from the beginning, the idea, silicon to the idea of intelligence — will be manufactured here.”

Supercomputers for U.S. Energy Department

In his keynote address earlier on Tuesday, Huang announced that Nvidia will build seven new AI supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy. These quantum-based systems will be located at the Argonne National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, both central to U.S. nuclear and energy research.

Huang also credited Trump’s pro-energy policies for driving growth in the AI industry, saying government support for energy expansion was a decisive factor in keeping the sector on track.

“His recognition of that and putting the weight of the nation behind pro-energy growth completely changed the game [...] I want to thank President Trump,” he said.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the Live Keynote Pregame during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 28. [AFP/YONHAP]

Nvidia also plans to enhance the energy efficiency of Nokia’s 6G base stations by integrating its chips. The company will invest $1 billion in Nokia to acquire a 2.9 percent stake and jointly develop software and hardware with the telecom firm to accelerate the transition from 5G to 6G.

“Wireless technology around the world today is largely deployed on foreign technologies,” Huang said. “That has to stop, and we have an opportunity to do that, especially during this fundamental platform shift.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM HYOUNG-GU [[email protected]]