▲ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wearing his signature black leather jacket
The signature black leather jacket of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is set to be auctioned off.
Sotheby's announced on July 3 (local time) that it will hold an auction for a Tom Ford leather jacket personally signed by CEO Huang.
The jacket, donated by Huang himself for the auction, is the one he wore at the Hon Hai Tech Day (HHTD) event held in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 18, 2023. The item is in like-new condition.
Hon Hai Tech Day is an annual event hosted by the Taiwanese company Hon Hai Precision Industry, widely known by its English name, Foxconn.
PSA, a company specializing in the authentication of sports memorabilia, has verified through photo analysis that the jacket is the same one worn at the event, and the signature has also been authenticated as genuine by JSA, a professional authentication firm.
The estimated winning bid is between 40,000 and 60,000 dollars (approximately 60 million to 90 million won), a price point comparable to that of Nvidia's latest artificial intelligence (AI) chip, Blackwell.
Considering that a new Tom Ford leather jacket typically costs around 10,000 dollars, its value has increased several times over.
Sotheby's described the "Jensen Jacket" as "a relic of the belief that the future is built by those who bravely venture into the unknown before anyone else," adding that it has "become a symbol of the vision unfolding at the forefront of the AI revolution."
Indeed, CEO Huang has consistently worn this leather jacket not only at major announcements such as product launch events and developer conferences but also in everyday public settings, such as when eating street food.
In the tech industry, Huang's leather jacket is recognized as an iconic garment, much like the black turtleneck sweater that the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wore throughout his life.
All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Edge Institute, a non-profit organization that operates "Edge City," an experimental village where innovators, researchers, philosophers, and artists temporarily gather and live, as part of a charitable initiative organized by the venture fund Long Journey Ventures.
Bidding will begin on July 7 and continue through July 17.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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