Beijing, May 5 (ZXS) -- Huang Jenxun, chief executive officer (CEO) of Nvidia, a global heavyweight semiconductor company, recently went to Taiwan, and a series of trips and its every move have attracted great attention from the island, and some Taiwan media have even described the trip as a "Whirlwind of Huang Jenxun."
From Huang Jenxun's speech at the graduation ceremony of National Taiwan University, to his family and colleagues to eat at Sichuan restaurants, to his daily fixed dress, Taiwan media daily tracking reports, relevant speeches have been analyzed and interpreted.
The reason why Huang's visit is called "whirlwind hit Taiwan" is partly because Huang was born in Taiwan (he moved to the United States with his family in 1972), and Nvidia, founded by him and his partner in 1993, is already the world's most valued semiconductor company, and its graphics processing chips are the main chips in cutting-edge visual fields such as artificial intelligence and games, with a market value of $7700 billion. According to reports, the vast majority of high-end products in NVIDIA's semiconductor production line are currently manufactured in Taiwan.
In addition, Huang Jenxun has a close relationship with TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou, Taiwan media said that the two have more than 25 years of "year-end friendship", Zhang Zhongmou recalled Huang Jenxun as a "solid partner and sincere friend" when he retired in 2018, and the business contacts between the two companies are also deeply bound. Taiwanese semiconductor industry commentator Lu Xingzhi recently analyzed the importance of NVIDIA to TSMC, saying that the former will replace Apple as the new "savior" of the latter, and he believes that NVIDIA will significantly increase TSMC orders in the second half of this year.
On the other hand, it was an interview given to Huang Jenxun a few days ago, which caused extensive discussion on both sides of the strait and in the global industry.
On May 5, the Financial Times published an exclusive interview with Jensen Wong. Huang's main point is that the control measures imposed by the United States to block China's development of the semiconductor industry have left NVIDIA "tied hands". He reminded the United States to be careful in handling its trade policy with China. "If we lose the Chinese market, we don't have a contingency plan. There is only one in China. ”
What touched the nerves of Taiwan's public opinion was his speech on the cross-strait semiconductor market. Huang said that in theory, Nvidia could manufacture chips outside Taiwan, but the Chinese (mainland) market could not be replaced.
According to NVIDIA's annual report, as of January 2023, the company's sales in the Chinese market, including Hong Kong, accounted for more than one-fifth of its turnover. According to 1 data, NVIDIA's more than $2022 billion in annual revenue could be affected by the risk of potential regional conflicts.
"I'm saddened to see this sentence (that NVIDIA can make chips outside of Taiwan). But the mainland market cannot be replaced, and he is telling the big truth. Current affairs commentator Guo Zhengliang believes that Huang's concerns about the current situation are justified. Guo said on the program a few days ago that the mainland market accounts for one-third of the world's semiconductor market, and this proportion is still increasing. Taiwanese political scientist Yang Yongming also believes that the mainland market is irreplaceable in the world, and global enterprises cannot find other alternative solutions to leave the mainland market.
Recently, the global artificial intelligence boom has driven related semiconductor stocks to rise one after another, NVIDIA recently announced its financial report, the performance exceeded analysts' general expectations, and the stock price broke through a new stage high. Some analysts pointed out that NVIDIA is related to the prospects of Taiwan's core technology industry, and Huang Jenxun's concern is also to remind Taiwan that the layout of semiconductor and other industries should be carefully considered. (End)