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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's abrupt resignation could give South Korean memory chipmakers greater leverage in future supply negotiations while raising uncertainty over AI ventures spearheaded by him, The Korea Herald reported, citing industry sources and analysts.
Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993, resigned on Thursday following allegations of extramarital affairs, including one involving a woman reportedly suspected by US officials of being a Chinese spy. Nvidia subsequently appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO, assuring customers that existing commitments and product plans would remain unchanged. Meanwhile, the leadership transition could create opportunities for South Korean memory chipmakers if Nvidia loses market share to competitors. "It could actually be better for us," said Ahn Ki-hyun, executive vice president of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, reported The Korea Herald. "If another company fills the gap left by Nvidia, it will still need our HBM." Ahn argued that Huang's personal relationships with Korean business leaders mattered less than the company's reliance on a handful of memory suppliers. "To change suppliers, Nvidia needs alternatives. But where are those alternatives?" he said. South Korea's SK hynix and Samsung Electronics, along with US-based Micron, are the three major producers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a critical component used in Nvidia's AI accelerators. "Instead of concentrating supply on one customer, we could spread it across several. That could actually be better for us," Ahn said, as cited by The Korea Herald. The report noted that Nvidia's share of global high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand was already expected to decline amid growing competition from rival chipmakers. According to LS Securities, Nvidia's share is projected to fall to 57 per cent in 2026 from 66 per cent in 2025. Morgan Stanley expects it to decline further to 37.3 per cent in 2027, while Google's share could reach 36 per cent. Meanwhile, Huang's exit could weaken Nvidia's bargaining position in future supply negotiations. Research firm SemiAnalysis said on Friday that Huang had personally secured memory chip supplies from South Korea and semiconductor manufacturing capacity in Taiwan, it noted. "SK hynix could charge Nvidia USD 3 to USD 3.30 per gigabit for HBM4 in 2027, compared with USD 3.70 to USD 4.10 for other major customers, including AMD, Broadcom, Amazon and Google," the report said, citing SemiAnalysis. "What worries me more are the new businesses," an official told The Korea Herald, requesting anonymity. "Huang personally pushed some of these projects. The question is whether they can move forward at the same pace without him," the official said. (ANI)
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