Many of Silicon Valley’s tech titans are getting ready to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration today — but not Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
On Friday, Huang was in Taiwan, where he told reporters he wouldn’t be at Trump’s inauguration as he will be celebrating Lunar New Year with employees.
“The year-end party is very important for us because the employees work so hard and it’s my opportunity to thank everyone,” Huang said, referring to festivities ahead of Lunar New Year, which starts on January 29.
Huang also told reporters he hasn’t spoken with the incoming Trump administration but is looking forward to congratulating the team.
During his visit to Taiwan, Huang attended year-end parties at Nvidia and Wistron, a Taiwanese supplier, according to local media reports.
He also hosted a lunch with tech leaders including TSMC Chairman CC Wei and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, highlighting the key role Taiwan plays in the world’s tech supply chain amid geopolitical tensions with Beijing, which claims the island as its territory.
Huang’s Taiwan trip also included a visit to his regular hair salon, stops at night markets, and dinner plans at TSMC founder Morris Chang’s residence. Huang left Taipei on Sunday morning and is in China, according to local media reports.
An Nvidia spokesperson told Business Insider it doesn’t comment on the travel schedules of its company executives.
Last year, Huang was also in Asia celebrating Lunar New Year in China.
‘Jensanity’ in Taiwan
Huang’s 55-hour visit to Taiwan ignited excitement on the island, where he was swarmed by the media and by fans wanting his autograph.
Seen as the local boy who made good, Taiwan-born Huang is a star in Taiwan. The phenomenon has been coined “Jensanity.”
During a visit to the island in June, Huang received a rockstar’s reception and even signed one woman’s chest. On Halloween, at least one Taiwanese kid dressed up as Huang, with his mom telling BI at the time that her 5-year-old son knew he was “dressed as a very remarkable person.”
Huang has also become a tech celebrity, with his memo-writing style, fashion sense, and organizational style becoming topics of discussion.
Nvidia is the leading producer of AI chips — a key domain the US and China are competing in. The company’s share price has skyrocketed in the past two years.
Nvidia is now one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market capitalization of $3.4 trillion. Huang is the 12th-richest person in the world, with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimating his net worth at $117 billion.
Nvidia shares closed 3.1% higher on Friday. They are up 2.6% year to date and 131% higher over the past year.
Tech leaders in the US prepare for Trump 2.0
Trump’s four-day inauguration celebration kicked off on January 18.
Major tech CEOs — including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew — are expected to be at Trump’s inauguration.
The inauguration has also drawn donations from tech giants. Google and Meta each donated $1 million to the event.
Earlier this month, Huang said he had not yet met Trump, but that he would be “delighted” to get an invite to visit Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach resort.
Nvidia declined to comment to BI on whether the company or Huang has donated to Trump’s inauguration.
Trump’s inauguration also coincides with the first day of Davos in Switzerland, which draws heads of business and state from around the globe.
The post As Big Tech CEOs plan to attend Trump’s inauguration, Jensen Huang is celebrating Lunar New Year in Asia with employees and tech leaders appeared first on Business Insider.
