Nvidia CEO mounts charm push in South Korea with TV talk show, baseball appearances

When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang makes his second visit to South Korea in just seven months this week, it won’t be only to meet top memory chip and robotics executives, but to throw the first pitch at a baseball game and appear on a TV talk show.

While a celebrity in his own right, the charm push by the Taiwan-born 63-year-old highlights South Korea’s critical position in the AI landscape. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix between them make about 70% of the memory needed for AI chips like Nvidia’s. And the ‌country’s strength in ⁠manufacturing and ⁠robotics sets it up to be a key player in physical AI, where AI is embedded in robots, cars and factories.