"AI Godfather Brings a Gift": Taiwan Abuzz with Anticipation

Expected to Arrive a Week Before the Opening of "Computex 2025"
Anticipation Grows for Announcement of Nvidia Taiwan Research Center Location

Jensen Huang (right in the photo), CEO of Nvidia, announced an increase in U.S. investment on the 30th of last month at the White House, while U.S. President Donald Trump watched. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Taiwan's enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) appears to be reigniting. There is growing anticipation that Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, will play a catalytic role by staying in Taiwan for a week prior to the opening of "Computex 2025" on May 20.

On May 12, Taiwanese media outlets such as UDN reported that CEO Huang could arrive in Taiwan as early as today. Huang is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at Computex 2025 on May 19. This means he will arrive in Taiwan a full week before the event begins. When contacted by Asia Economy, Nvidia only confirmed, "We understand that CEO Huang will arrive in Taiwan sometime this week."

Multiple sources have confirmed Huang's early arrival in Taiwan. TSMC, which manufactures Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs), reportedly tried to reserve Huang's favorite restaurant to host a banquet in his honor, but had to switch to another venue due to full bookings. During his visit, Huang is expected to host a grand dinner event, inviting CEOs from Nvidia's Taiwanese partners including Foxconn, ASUS, MSI, and Compal. Last year, around Computex 2024, Huang also stayed in Taiwan for about two weeks, leading the AI boom in the country.

The Taiwanese side is hoping that CEO Huang will bring a significant "gift" to ease concerns over the U.S.-China conflict, the resulting ban on Nvidia GPU exports to China, and reduced AI investment.

The most prominent "gift" is the establishment of the Nvidia Taiwan Research Center. Huang has previously indicated that he will announce the location of this new research center during Computex 2025. The Nvidia Taiwan Research Center is expected to be the company's largest outside of its Silicon Valley headquarters, with a blueprint to secure at least 1,000 personnel. This reflects Huang's commitment to making Taiwan the hub of GPU development. Both the Taiwanese government and CEO Huang plan to transform Taiwan into a global center for AI through this initiative.

Although Huang has emphasized increased investment in the United States during his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, he has also expressed the view that GPU export restrictions to China will only serve to help Chinese companies grow.