Jensen Huang's potential exit casts shadow over Korea's AI road map

Mounting uncertainties surrounding Nvidia are threatening to disrupt Korea's semiconductor industry and its broader artificial intelligence (AI) road maps, as U.S. semiconductor restrictions are likely to be tightened and the future of its beleaguered CEO Jensen Huang is unclear.

Following Huang's admission of an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, U.S. lawmakers have stepped up calls for tighter restrictions on China's access to U.S.-made AI chips.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday (local time) called on Congress to pass three acts tightening export controls on advanced AI chips.

“This alarming situation makes clear that Congress must now act to pass critical bipartisan legislation like the AI Overwatch Act, the MATCH Act and Chip Security Act to cut off China's access to advanced American technology before it's too late," Schumer said during a Senate floor speech.

The AI Overwatch Act is aimed at allowing Congress to block advanced AI chip exports to U.S. foreign adversaries. The Chip Security Act will require AI chips subject to export controls to have a “location verification mechanism.”

Of particular concern for Korean chipmakers is the MATCH Act, which seeks to align U.S. allies' export controls with Washington's restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment supplied to China.

An acronym for "Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware," the bipartisan bill was introduced in April and has since been incorporated into the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. It is now awaiting consideration by the full Senate and final reconciliation between the House and Senate.

If the law is enacted, the Korean government could face pressure from Washington to introduce restrictions on exports of designated semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, similar to those imposed by the U.S. itself.

The bill’s draft includes an exemption for equipment exports to existing semiconductor plants in China owned and operated by foreign companies. This means Samsung Electronics' NAND flash memory plant in Xi'an and SK hynix's DRAM plant in Wuxi and NAND flash memory plant in Dalian could qualify for the exemption.

However, the clause refers only to "exports," leaving unclear whether it also covers servicing existing equipment, such as repairs, calibration and software or firmware updates.

Korean chipmakers have been allowed to import certain U.S.-made equipment into their existing Chinese facilities for maintaining current operations rather than expanding or upgrading them.

If the MATCH Act passes and the Netherlands and Japan align their export controls with those of the U.S., restrictions would extend to equipment supplied by companies including ASML and Tokyo Electron.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are seeking additional investments in their Chinese plants to modernize their manufacturing processes. If the new regulation takes effect, even routine maintenance at these plants could then face higher regulatory compliance costs.

The possibility of Huang's departure could further complicate matters for Korean chipmakers, the leaders of which have cultivated close personal ties with the Nvidia chief as they seek to strengthen their positions in the global AI supply chain.

Reports that Nvidia's board will soon decide whether to replace Huang are also adding to uncertainty for the Korean government and companies, which have accelerated partnerships and other collaborative projects through high-level meetings with Huang.

Huang visited Korea twice since 2025, meeting with President Lee Jae Myung and the owners of major Korean conglomerates including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

The meetings have led to partnerships between Nvidia and companies across Korean industries, with Nvidia pledging to prioritize the supply of 260,000 of its latest graphics processing units to the Korean government and major companies.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are key memory chip suppliers to Nvidia, with SK hynix maintaining a particularly close partnership that extends to long-term technology development. Hyundai Motor Group is collaborating with Nvidia on autonomous driving, data centers and smart factories, while LG is expanding cooperation in physical AI and robotics.

“People often say Nvidia is Jensen Huang and Jensen Huang is Nvidia,” an industry official said. “It is widely known that Huang wields enormous influence within Nvidia, and Korean companies have been able to accelerate partnerships and other collaboration projects through top-down approach involving direct meetings with him.

“If Huang is replaced, it would be difficult to continue doing business in the same way, regardless of who succeeds him. Existing contracts and negotiations with Korean companies could also come under scrutiny. That would create considerable uncertainty for Korean partners.”