Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's Strategic 'Push and Pull' Between Samsung and SK Hynix Over HBM

As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently visited South Korea to meet with leaders of major domestic companies to discuss building an AI ecosystem, analysts suggest that a subtle "push and pull" dynamic is unfolding between Nvidia, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix regarding the supply of memory semiconductors, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

First, during his visit, CEO Huang met with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won three times, including a meeting in Mapo-gu, Seoul, highlighting their strong cooperative relationship.

Huang emphasized that SK Hynix "has been Nvidia's largest memory partner and will continue to remain our largest memory partner." It was reported that during a meal with Chairman Chey, he requested that SK Hynix increase its supply of HBM to Nvidia, saying, "Give us more HBM."

Following CEO Huang's two-week-long "love call" toward SK Group, some analysts suggested that Nvidia might be prioritizing SK Hynix over Samsung Electronics in its memory partnerships.

However, CEO Huang also emphasized his partnership with Samsung Electronics executives, including Chairman Lee Jae-yong, sending messages that suggest a "push and pull" strategy between the two companies.

When asked by reporters during his fried chicken outing with Chairman Chey whether he planned to meet with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong during his visit, Huang replied, "I had a wonderful dinner with Chairman Lee in California recently."

On June 8, during his visit, CEO Huang also met with Jun Young-hyun, CEO and Head of the Device Solutions (DS) Division at Samsung Electronics, ahead of Nvidia's "Korea AI Ecosystem" event, which served as his final official engagement.

After the meeting, Vice Chairman Jun stated, "We have been cooperating with CEO Huang for a long time, and I think we had the best conversation today," adding, "We discussed long-term cooperation, including the foundry business and HBM5."

Some in the industry analyze that from last year's fried chicken meeting to this recent visit, CEO Huang has been engaging in a subtle "push and pull" between Samsung Electronics and SK Group. By emphasizing personal ties while simultaneously fueling competition, he appears to be placing silent pressure on both Samsung and SK to maximize their memory supply to Nvidia.

Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Seo Byeong-wook | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.