Many CEOs of major companies are expected to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is not among them. Because he is celebrating the Asian New Year. Fan met with technology leaders and attended local celebrations in Taiwan over the weekend.
Many of Silicon Valley’s tech giants are preparing to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration today, but not NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.
On Friday, Huang told reporters he would not attend Trump’s inauguration because he was in Taiwan and Trump was celebrating Lunar New Year with his employees.
Huang mentioned the festivities ahead of the Lunar New Year, which begins on January 29, and said, “Our employees work hard, so the year-end party is very important to us, and it is also an opportunity to thank everyone.” he said.
Hwang also told reporters that he has not yet spoken to the incoming Trump administration but looks forward to congratulating the team.
During his visit to Taiwan, Huang attended a year-end party for Nvidia and Taiwanese supplier Wistron, according to local media reports.
He also hosted a luncheon with high-tech leaders, including TSMC Chairman CC Wei and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, to discuss how the world’s high-tech industry is growing amid geopolitical tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory. He emphasized the important role Taiwan plays in the supply chain.
Fan’s trip to Taiwan also included a visit to her favorite hair salon, a stop at a night market, and a dinner plan at the home of TSMC founder Morris Chan. According to local media reports, Huang left Taipei on Sunday morning and is staying in China.
An Nvidia spokesperson told Business Insider that the company does not comment on executives’ travel schedules.
Last year, Huang traveled to Asia to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Taiwan’s “Gensanity”
Huang’s 55-hour visit to Taiwan sparked excitement in Taiwan, with media and autograph-seeking fans flocking to the island.
Taiwanese-born Fan is considered a local boy who achieved excellent results and has become a star in Taiwan. This phenomenon was named “gensanity.”
During a visit to the island in June, Huang received a reception from rock stars and even signed one woman’s breast. On Halloween, at least one Taiwanese child dressed up as a fan, and his mother told BI at the time that her 5-year-old son said he was “dressing up as a very remarkable person.” He said he knew.
Huang is also a celebrity in the technology world, with people talking about his memo-writing style, fashion sense, and organizational style.
Nvidia is a leading manufacturer of AI chips, a key area in which the U.S. and China compete. The company’s stock price has soared over the past two years.
Nvidia is currently one of the most valuable companies in the world with a market capitalization of $3.4 trillion. Mr. Hwang is the 12th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $117 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Nvidia stock closed 3.1% higher on Friday. It’s up 2.6% since the beginning of the year and 131% over the past year.
US tech leaders prepare for Trump 2.0
President Trump’s four-day inauguration ceremony began on January 18th.
At President Trump’s inauguration, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and TikTok’s Sho Gee Choo were among those present. CEOs of major technology companies are expected to attend.
The inauguration also attracted donations from technology giants. Google and Meta each donated $1 million to the event.
Earlier this month, Hwang said that although he had not yet met Trump, he would be “happy” to be invited to Trump’s Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago.
Nvidia declined to comment to BI about whether it or Mr. Huang donated to President Trump’s inauguration.
President Trump’s inauguration also coincides with the first day of the Davos conference in Switzerland, which gathers business and national leaders from around the world.
