Source: Semiconductor Industry Observer

$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$Now undoubtedly one of the most crucial enterprises in the AI field, with a market cap of more than 3 trillion U.S. dollars, which has also made CEO Huang Renxun's net worth climb to $102 billion (about NT$3.3 trillion).

Little-known Curtis Priem, co-founder of Nvidia, sold his shares more than 20 years ago and is now worth about $30 million.

Why did they take such radically different paths after being close business partners?

As of June 7, 2024, Nvidia's stock has skyrocketed more than 220% in a year. Forbes revealed Priem's former Nvidia shares, which, if he hadn't sold them, would have given him a net worth of over $140 billion and put him in the top 10 richest people in the world.

Priem left Nvidia early, but he was still an important contributor to Nvidia's success.

Forbes noted that he was an inventor with nearly 200 patents to his name, involved in the design of the world's first computer GPU in the 1980s, and served as Nvidia's technical chief for a decade after co-founding the company.

Many of the tech companies that now have global influence originated from inconspicuous places, some from garages or college dormitories and others from family restaurants, like Nvidia.

In 1993, Primm, who was then working at Sun Yang Computer, along with colleague Chris Malachowsky and LSI engineer Huang Renxun, discussed at a Denny's restaurant the creation of a chip that could display lifelike 3D graphics on a computer.

At that time, the three played to their respective strengths, with Huang Renxun in charge of business decisions, Malachowsky focusing on hardware design, and Primm focusing on software architecture. He created the underlying architecture that allowed external engineers to design algorithms for Nvidia's chips, playing a critical behind-the-scenes role.

Priem joked that there was an internal Nvidia saying at the time that went, "Never put Curtis in front of a camera, and never make Curtis face a customer." Huang Renxun cleared his name, saying, "Curtis is actually very good at dealing with customers."

In 1999, after Nvidia went public with a market capitalization of $1.1 billion, Primm set aside three-quarters of his 12.8% stake in Nvidia and donated it to the newly established family foundation. Primm explained that he did so to avoid the substantial taxes that would result from selling the shares.

However, not long after, Primm was unable to focus on work due to personal life distractions such as marriage disputes, and 10 years after founding the company, he announced his retirement from Nvidia in 2003 and sold all his remaining Nvidia shares in 2006, living a reclusive life without contact with the outside world, tinkering with his declaration of how to "save the world" at home.

According to Forbes estimates, Primm's assets are currently worth about $30 million. Looking back, Primm admits some regret for so readily clearing his Nvidia holdings, saying, "I wish I had kept some (Nvidia shares)."

Since then, Nvidia's stock has grown more than 200 times, recently overtaking Apple to become the world's second-largest company by market cap.

Most of Priem's wealth is donated to his alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he has donated a total of $275 million since 2001, accounting for 40% of donations to the school.

His donations were initially used mainly to pay for basic expenses such as teacher salaries, building repairs, and equipment purchases, but later went toward the construction of a biotech research center and a music hall.

Last year, Priem came up with an even bolder idea, announcing plans to establish a quantum computing research center at his alma mater.

Starting this spring, an IBM Q System One with 127 quantum bits is located on campus and is expected to be upgraded to a more advanced system in the coming years.

However, the cost of importing quantum computers is expensive, and Prim expects that most of the remaining funds of the family foundation will be used on this computer.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Prim donated as much as $75 million to the quantum computer, while the school needs to pay IBM $15 million in rent every year.

Prim is not sure how long his funds can support, but he said that the alma mater is his haven after experiencing ups and downs outside, and claims that investment in the alma mater has been a career aspirations.

Prim hopes that this quantum computer can drive local research and development, cultivate quantum computing and semiconductor talents, and establish a "quantum valley" that leads industrial development.

Huang Renxun, becoming the "Taylor Swift" of the chip industry.

Nvidia's other founder Huang Renxun has skyrocketed in value and unprecedented popularity.

Now, wherever Huang Renxun goes, crowds will shout his name, eager to take pictures with him or ask for his autograph.

He is not the celebrity we usually see - the 61-year-old electrical engineer is the CEO of the chip giant Nvidia, whose market cap just broke $3 trillion ($2.3 trillion), surpassing Apple to become the world's second most valuable company, but then fell back.

"He's really treated like a rock star," said tech analyst Bob O'Donnell. "Jensen saw the opportunity for the development based on Nvidia. He obviously enjoys the moment."

He posed in countless poses at the meeting, even scribbling his name on a woman's blouse, loudly questioning whether it was a "good idea". In the words of the local media, this is pure "Jenny-style behavior".

According to reports, US regulators are planning to investigate the dominant position of large technology companies, including Nvidia, in the artificial intelligence industry.

Mr. Huang’s interest was not unnoticed by his peers—Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, describing him in a reply to a social media fan who didn’t know who Mr. Huang was as the “Taylor Swift of tech.”

Mr. Huang is at the forefront of technological prosperity, rising at a time when Nvidia has become a leading AI chip designer.

All this has attracted attention to Huang Renxun and the company he founded decades ago.

Of course, Nvidia itself has had success. Last year, its stock price rose more than 200%.

As artificial intelligence and its driving chips become as cool as anything new, the company has become a tech star.

Mr. Huang has been in charge of Nvidia chip release events, which are as popular as Apple's.

"Nvidia's last large conference in San Jose was held in a stadium. The venue was crowded with people and there was a long queue and couldn't get in. Just like a rock concert," O'Donnell said.

"This time he gave a speech at the sports field in Taiwan, China. I jokingly said that he was on a stadium tour," O'Donnell said.

How much do we know about Huang Renxun?

First of all, Mr. Huang likes leather jackets very much. He believes that this is what his wife and daughter have given him a unique style.

A spokesperson for Nvidia said he has been wearing these glasses for over 20 years. He recently picked up a 2023 model from Tom Ford, despite the humidity in Singapore, he still wore it.

"A leather jacket can convey a sense of advantage: the willingness to break the rules, do something different and challenge the status quo," said fashion stylist Serra Murphy.

She added: "Johnson's iconic style gives him a casual and approachable vitality."

The iconic styles of tech CEOs are not uncommon. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was known for his everyday wear - a black St. Croix turtleneck, blue Levi's 501 jeans, and New Balance 991 sneakers. Zuckerberg usually wears ordinary sweaters and T-shirts from luxury fashion brands.

"Uniform dressing" can help entrepreneurs establish a stable image around the company, said Murphy.

"People need leaders to stay the same. In turbulent and unpredictable markets, wearing uniform clothes can make things predictable."

Aside from leather jackets, Mr. Huang is very much in line with the description of a tech geek.

He moved to the West Coast of the United States with his family at the age of nine, graduated in electrical engineering from Oregon State University, and later earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

He married his university sweetheart and laboratory partner Lori Mills, who is also an electrical engineer. They have two children.

He worked at American chip company AMD and co-founded Nvidia with others in 1993. The company was initially known for its graphic processing chips, especially those used for computer games. Eventually, the company shifted its focus to artificial intelligence, and now dominates the field.

After the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, interest in artificial intelligence skyrocketed. The chatbot was trained using 10,000 Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs), which were clustered together in a supercomputer.

This allowed Nvidia to join the elite club of American companies worth at least $1 trillion last May, alongside Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft.

Nvidia is now the world's third most valuable company, second only to Microsoft and Apple.

According to Forbes, Mr. Huang's net worth is about $106 billion, making him the 14th richest person in the world. O'Donnell said Mr. Huang may continue to appear at various events to promote Nvidia's brand.

"At technology conferences, everyone wants Jensen on stage, and he's happy to join in. He's everywhere doing everything. He positions himself as a leader in generative artificial intelligence," said O'Donnell.

"The problem is the industry doesn't like monopolies. Nvidia has a huge market share, but competitors like AMD and Intel are starting to catch up."

Editor/Lambor