Huang Renxun is not only the CEO of Huida, but also an important figure in connecting the Asian semiconductor supply chain, promoting artificial intelligence (AI) investment in various countries, and maintaining U.S.-China technology and business relations. The US media "The New York Times" reported that Huang Renxun stepped down from Huida, and Asian countries lost an important ambassador who spoke for AI in the United States.
Huang Renxun's resignation as CEO and director of Huida has attracted widespread attention throughout Asia and may trigger new variables in the layout of artificial intelligence. People from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia to Malaysia have highly regarded Huang Jen-Hsun. He often travels to various parts of Asia and actively cultivates close relationships with local business leaders.
Huang Renxun has always positioned Huida chips as an important way for countries to achieve "Sovereign AI" (Sovereign AI). This concept emphasizes that each country must build its own AI supercomputer and data center, a vision shared by many government leaders.
Even in China, where Huang has built business relationships for Huida that have been complicated by competition between Beijing and Washington, he is often seen as a bridge between the two sides. However, the role has been overshadowed by recent allegations of his relationship with a woman who was allegedly a Chinese spy.
Huida's current market value is approximately US$4 trillion, making it one of the companies with the highest market value in the world. Now, Jen-Hsun Huang's sudden departure from the company has sent a shock bomb to Asia's technology industry and raised doubts about plans to expand data centers in Southeast Asia. Huida Chip is currently supporting the development of artificial intelligence in the entire region.
In Taiwan, people affectionately call Huang Renxun Huang Daddy; in Indonesia, Huang Renxun is known as the leader of the artificial intelligence revolution; in Japan, technology investor Masayoshi Son calls him "the next Steve Jobs."
China has to speed up the process of independence
For China, Huang Renxun’s departure may accelerate China’s pursuit of semiconductor independence. Beijing and Chinese companies are concerned that the United States will further tighten export controls on American-designed chips.
Many Chinese companies use data centers in Malaysia and other countries to obtain chips that would otherwise not be imported directly into China. In recent days, Chinese companies in Malaysia have begun scrambling to rent data center space to gain access to advanced computing resources ahead of possible new restrictions in the United States.
A senior director of the Malaysia Data Center said that these companies are stepping up their actions and hope to complete their layout before relevant restrictions may be implemented. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because of ongoing business arrangements.
China has already begun preparing for chip independence, but many Chinese companies engaged in cutting-edge AI research and development still rely on Huida chips. Huang Renxun's resignation forced China to speed up its process of independence.
Zhong Yang, a Chinese technology industry figure, said that state-owned enterprises may soon face a "survival necessity" and must replace foreign chips with chips made in China. Experts point out that Huang Renxun's resignation may hurt China's AI industry in the short term, but in the long term, it may benefit local chip manufacturers such as Huawei. However, there is still a technological gap in chips made in China.
In Taiwan, Huang Jen-Hsun is even regarded as a superstar. Whenever he visits Taipei, the relevant activities are usually broadcast live for a long time. Taiwanese media will also set off a wave of reporting on his visit, and it is even called "Jensanity" (Huang Renxun fanaticism).
Huang frequently meets with senior executives of Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC and has also hosted banquets for Taiwanese suppliers. His close relationship with TSMC executives is particularly well known.
South Korea worries about US$510 billion cooperation plan, semiconductor super cycle may be affected
One of Huang's outstanding abilities in the Asian technology community is his ability to establish personal relationships with Huida's suppliers to ensure a stable supply of key components to the company.
Last year, as the industry began to face a shortage of high-speed memory chips, which are important components that work with Huida AI Semiconductor, Huang launched an aggressive public relations campaign to personally express his goodwill to South Korea's electronics industry leaders. Now, South Korea is beginning to worry about the future of these joint business plans, worth a total of about 510 billion US dollars.
South Korea is also concerned about U.S. export controls on China, which accounts for a sizeable portion of South Korea's semiconductor exports.
"Korea Economic News" pointed out in the editorial: "It is no exaggeration to say that the semiconductor super cycle we are currently experiencing is a gift from the AI ecosystem cultivated by Huida." The editorial further pointed out that although some people may think that Huang Renxun's departure is just a change in Huida's senior personnel, what is really worthy of attention is: "In fact, Huang Renxun is almost equal to Huida itself."
Japan promotes sovereign AI, Huang Renxun once personally helped
When visiting Japan in July this year, Huang Renxun said that Japan can use its advantages in the fields of manufacturing and industrial robots to become a leader in independent research and development of physical AI (Physical AI). He believes that Japan only needs to make full use of its industrial strength to achieve a leading position in the field of physical AI.
Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa and dozens of Japanese business leaders attended the establishment event of a technology alliance in Tokyo with the goal of jointly developing physical AI models.
Akasawa Ryomasa specially wore a black leather jacket that day. He told the audience that he wore this outfit to express his "high respect" for Huang Renxun, because the leather jacket is Huang Renxun's most representative personal style. In the end, a total of 44 large Japanese companies joined the alliance, including Sony Group, SoftBank, NEC and Honda. According to reports, some corporate executives had dinner with Huang Renxun in Tokyo at that time, and the stock prices of related companies also attracted market attention.
The expansion of data centers in Southeast Asia may be affected, with Malaysia bearing the brunt
Ong Kian Ming, Malaysia’s former deputy minister of investment, trade and industry, said Huang’s departure “may suppress demand for AI computing power in existing and future data centers.” "Malaysia is likely to bear the biggest brunt of the fall in demand, but there could also be spillover effects to Thailand and Indonesia," he said.
Jen-Hsun Huang is a rare corporate CEO. He would eat fried chicken and drink beer with business giants, and also interact with ordinary people on the street and taste street food. He also pays special attention to the Asian market and arranges meetings with many Asian government officials every time he travels.
Jude Chan, a reporter for Singapore's The Business Times, wrote: "What is really hard to find in Southeast Asia is another Huida CEO who is willing to fly there, sit down and meet with prime ministers, and is willing to go to Washington to fight for local interests."
