From $40,000 to AI overlord! US media breaks down Huang Jen-Hsun’s legend of over 30 years of hard work

First published 11-12 23:54<br>Updated 11-13 05:48

Huang Renxun resigned as CEO of Huida. (AFP)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] Huida founder Huang Renxun suddenly resigned as CEO, shocking the global technology industry. The Wall Street Journal published a special article on the 12th, reviewing the 33-year hard work of this AI godfather. From establishing the company with his friends with $40,000 to leading Huida to become the global AI chip overlord, Huang Renxun not only built a technology empire, but also made the graphics chip originally used for video games become the core technology to promote the artificial intelligence revolution.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out that 63-year-old Huang Renxun resigned as CEO after 33 years at the helm of Huida. The company announced that Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress would serve as interim CEO and launched a formal successor selection process. Huang Renxun has served as CEO since he founded Huida in 1993. He is the first and only CEO since the company was founded.

The report recalled that in 1993, Huang Renxun and two friends discussed starting a business at the American restaurant chain Denny's, and established Huida with US$40,000 in capital. At that time, the company mainly developed graphics chips for personal computers and video games. Later, it gradually established a large ecosystem of software developers and developed high-performance GPUs, laying the foundation for the future artificial intelligence revolution.

With the rise of generative AI, Huida GPU has become an important computing basis for artificial intelligence models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. Although other technology giants have invested in self-developed AI chips, Huida still relies on its technological advantages to maintain its lead. Product demand has long exceeded supply, driving the company to become one of the companies with the highest market value in the world.

Huang Renxun also rose with Huida and became one of the world's richest people. The Wall Street Journal pointed out that he holds about 3.6% of Huida shares. According to statistics from Equilar, a senior executive compensation research organization, since 2007, Huang Renxun has received a total of approximately US$2.4 billion in compensation, including salary, bonuses, stock and option income.

Huang Jen-Hsun was born in Taipei in 1963. He lived in Thailand as a child and went to the United States when he was 10 years old. When he was young, he worked at Dennis's Restaurant and later attended Oregon State University, where he met his wife, Lori Huang. Before founding Huida, he worked at AMD and LSI Logic to accumulate experience in the semiconductor industry.

The report also mentioned that Huang Renxun is not only good at technology research and development, but also good at establishing industrial cooperation relationships. In 2016, he provided Musk with the supercomputer used in the early stages of OpenAI, and has long maintained close contacts with technology industry leaders such as TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou.

As AI chips have become the focus of technological competition between the United States and China, Huang Renxun has gradually entered the political stage. He has publicly warned that U.S. chip export controls may harm the local semiconductor industry, and actively established relations with the White House during Trump's second term. However, he was criticized by some national security hawks for this.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out that Huang Renxun is known for his workaholic and strong sense of competition. He often reminds employees that the company is always only 30 days away from bankruptcy. In an interview with Bloomberg in October this year, he said that business leaders should not take their positions for granted and must continue to prove their value.

Today, Huang Renxun steps down as CEO of Huida, ending his 33 years at the helm. However, the GPU computing revolution he single-handedly promoted has profoundly changed the global technology industry and made Huida one of the most influential companies in the AI ​​era.

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