Nvidia boss calls Taylor Swift the Taylor Swift of tech

Today, wherever Jen-Hsun Huang goes, adoring crowds chant his name and compete for selfies and autographs.

The Nvidia CEO’s rock star status was on full display during a visit to Taiwan this week. He took countless photos and even wrote his name on one woman’s top just below her cleavage. It’s pure “Jensanity” as the locals say.

His peers know the fervor Mr. Huang can inspire. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described him as “like Taylor Swift, but dedicated to technology.”

The bespectacled, gray-haired 61-year-old is exactly what the character is dressed for. He adopted a black leather jacket as his signature style.

NVIDIA is the world’s leading designer of artificial intelligence (AI) chips, and Mr. Huang is at the forefront of the technology boom.

Earlier this week, Nvidia’s market capitalization surges to over $3tn (£2.3tn). At this point, the company surpassed Apple on Wednesday to become the world’s second most valuable company, but fell back on Thursday.

Nvidia’s stock price has also risen more than 200% in the past year.

“He’s really been treated like a rock star,” said technology analyst Bob O’Donnell.

“Nvidia’s last big conference in San Jose was at the stadium. It was so packed that people in line couldn’t get in.

“This time, he was speaking at a stadium in Taiwan. I joked that he was on an arena tour.

California-based Nvidia was originally known for making chips that process graphics, especially computer games.

Mr. Huang co-founded the company in 1993.

Interest in artificial intelligence peaked in 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT, which is enabled by Nvidia chips.

The chatbot is trained using 10,000 Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs), clustered into a supercomputer.

This success helped propel Nvidia An elite club of U.S. companies worth at least $1 trillion Last May, it joined the likes of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft.

While Microsoft remains the world’s most valuable public company, Nvidia isn’t far behind.

In Asia, its success has boosted Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC, Nvidia’s sole production partner for its most advanced artificial intelligence chips. TSMC shares hit a record high on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Mr. Huang credits his wife and daughter for his love of leather jackets. An Nvidia spokesman said he has been wearing the classic jacket for more than two decades.

His latest pick is an embossed biker jacket from American fashion house Tom Ford, which retails for nearly $9,000.

He wears it all the time even when he is seen in tropical countries like Singapore.

“A leather jacket can signal a strength: a willingness to break the rules, do things differently and challenge the status quo,” says fashion stylist Sera Murphy.

“Jensen’s signature style gives him a casual, approachable energy,” she added.

A signature style is not uncommon for technology CEOs.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs almost always wears the same outfit – a black St. Croix turtleneck, blue Levi’s 501 jeans and New Balance 991 sneakers.

Zuckerberg is known for wearing plain sweaters and T-shirts from luxury fashion brands. In March last year, he posted a photo of himself and Mr Huang exchanging jackets.

Ms Murphy said “dressing uniformly” can help entrepreneurs build a stable image around their company.

“People need consistency from leaders. In a volatile and unpredictable market, wearing a uniform can make things predictable.

O’Donnell expects Mr. Huang will continue to attend events around the world.

“At technology conferences, everyone wanted Jensen on stage, and he was happy to join. What he did made him omnipresent. He positioned himself as the figurehead for generating artificial intelligence,” Mr. O’Donnell said.

“The problem is that this industry doesn’t like monopolies. Nvidia has a huge market share, but competitors like AMD and Intel are starting to catch up.

“Jensen saw an opportunity to build on Nvidia’s foundation. He’s clearly enjoying the moment. In Taiwan, he’s also a local boy who’s done a great job. It’s something people can rally around.