Jensen Huang Was One Step Away From Becoming CEO of TSMC

Recently it became known that Jensen Huang could become the CEO of TSMC. Officials of the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer considered the candidacy of the NVIDIA CEO to be one of the key ones to lead the company TSMC. Given Huang's deep knowledge of chip design and his global achievements at NVIDIA, he was a serious contender for the position. Nevertheless, Jensen Huang refused to take over TSMC, as revealed in a biographical book about Morris Chang, the founder of TSMC.

Why Was TSMC Looking For a New CEO?

At the moment, NVIDIA is one of the most profitable companies in terms of market capitalization and sales. In 2013, things were different: NVIDIA was not as successful. And it was then that Morris Chang, the founder of TSMC, wanted to know if Jensen Huang was interested in becoming CEO of TSMC.

Chang saw Huang as the right candidate to take TSMC to the next level and successfully lead the company in the face of rapidly growing demand for semiconductors, given that Jensen Huang had already achieved significant success as the founder and CEO of NVIDIA.

An Unpredictable Twist: Why NVIDIA CEO Turned Down the Offer

Despite the tempting offer, Jensen Huang chose to remain loyal to his company. Sources familiar with his decision claim that Huang was interested in the opportunity to manage TSMC, but he was more attracted to the future of NVIDIA and the implementation of ambitious plans.

As a result, Huang did find successors for himself. And when he stepped down from the company in 2018, Mark Liu became the chairman of the board and Xi Wei became the CEO.

What Would Have Happened If Huang Had Accepted the Offer?

Huang's choice to stay at NVIDIA did not prevent TSMC from developing and building its strength. Under the leadership of Morris Chang, the company continued to grow rapidly and became the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer.

As for NVIDIA, it has undergone a transformation under Huang's leadership: from a company focused on the GPU market, NVIDIA has become a leading player in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.