SK Chairman Choe, Nvidia CEO Huang Meet Over Chicken and Beer in Silicon Valley
SK Group Chairman Choe Tae-won met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang for chicken and beer in Silicon Valley. Choe leads the parent company of SK hynix, the world’s largest AI semiconductor maker’s key memory chip supplier.
The two executives met on May 5 at 99 Chicken, a Korean fried chicken restaurant in Santa Clara, California. The establishment is known as a favorite spot of Huang, who is reportedly a “chimaek enthusiast”—referring to the popular Korean pairing of chicken and beer.
The meeting drew additional attention as both executives were joined by their daughters. Choe Min-jung, CEO of Integral Health and Choe’s second daughter, attended alongside Madison Huang, Senior Director of Nvidia’s robotics division.
The executives are understood to have held in-depth discussions on HBM4 supply arrangements. Nvidia plans to launch its next-generation AI accelerator “Vera Rubin” in the second half of this year. Timely delivery of SK hynix’s ultra-high-performance stacked memory chips, HBM4, is essential for the product’s scheduled release.
SK hynix currently supplies approximately 70% of all fifth-generation HBM3E chips used in Nvidia’s current flagship Blackwell processors. The company is expected to provide more than 60% of the initial HBM4 volume for Vera Rubin.
Industry observers believe the two also discussed seventh-generation HBM (HBM4E), customized HBM (cHBM), SOCAMM (low-power server DRAM modules), and NAND flash memory supply as markets expand next year.
Whether Choe requested Nvidia’s investment or collaboration in AI solution businesses also drew interest. SK hynix recently renamed its U.S. NAND flash subsidiary Solidigm to “AI Company” and committed $10 billion to transform it into a dedicated AI investment and solutions enterprise.
Given Nvidia’s portfolio spanning autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and digital twins, observers suggest the executives may have held substantive discussions on the AI Company’s vision.
This marks their second meeting in approximately three months.
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SK Chairman Choe, Nvidia CEO Huang Meet Over Chicken and Beer in Silicon Valley, source
