Show of Support Highlights Key Industry Alliances

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently showcased signatures from prominent tech leaders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, on his arm cast via social media. This gesture is being interpreted as a demonstration of strong relationships within the global artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industries.

Chairman Choi shared photos of the signed cast, stating, I am uploading this to commemorate the release of Gibbs and Thanks to my friends who encouraged me to recover quickly every time I went on a business trip, I became attached to Gibbs. The cast bears signatures from Google CEO Sundar Pichai and SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son as well.

Silicon Valley Meetings Focused on AI Collaboration

The signatures were collected during Chairman Choi’s business trip to Silicon Valley and Seattle last month, undertaken even whereas recovering from a wrist fracture sustained during a tennis match. A particularly notable moment occurred at a chicken and beer meeting held in Silicon Valley on February 5th, where NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang personally signed the cast.

HBM Supply and Korea’s AI Ecosystem on the Agenda

Industry observers believe the meetings centered around securing stable supply chains for critical components like high bandwidth memory (HBM), which is in high demand due to the rapid expansion of AI technologies. Global tech companies, including Google and Meta, are reportedly seeking reliable HBM and DDR5 memory supplies from SK Hynix to support their next-generation AI infrastructure.

The business world is interpreting Chairman Choi’s latest move as a strategic message beyond a simple display of closeness.

Discussions likely included fostering cooperation in developing Korea’s AI ecosystem, as well as supply plans for HBM4, NVIDIA’s next-generation AI accelerator, dubbed Vera Rubin.

Gift Exchange Symbolizes Strong Ties

Previous meetings between these leaders have involved significant gift exchanges. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has gifted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun a bottle of Japan’s Hakushu 25-year-old single malt whisky and Nvidia’s DGX AI system. In return, Chey gifted Huang a semiconductor wafer produced by SK hynix, engraved with the phrase: The world’s best HBM4 product by SK hynix. Huang responded with a smile, The wafer is so expensive, so heavy. Now I require maybe several hundred million more, drawing laughter from those present.