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Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, who is visiting Korea for the first time in 15 years, is scheduled to meet with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun at a chicken restaurant near Samsung Station in Seoul on October 30. The heads of three companies representing the global semiconductor and mobility industries are coming together in an unusual "chimaek" (chicken and beer) format.

According to business circles, this meeting was initiated at the suggestion of Nvidia. It is known that CEO Hwang expressed his desire to have an open and candid conversation while personally experiencing Korea's chimaek culture.

Samsung and Hyundai Motor coordinated schedules and set the meeting date at the request of Nvidia's working-level team.

This meeting is regarded as an unofficial gathering to discuss cooperation among the three companies on artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and future mobility, beyond a simple social event.

Samsung Electronics is preparing to supply Nvidia with the next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) 'HBM3E 12-stack' product and is also developing HBM4.

To expand the supply of memory for AI computing, a cooperative structure with Nvidia is decisive.

Nvidia plans to officially announce new AI semiconductor supply contracts with major Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Naver, on October 31, the day after the "chimaek meeting." These contracts aim to expand cooperation on AI computing graphics processing units (GPUs) and next-generation semiconductors, aligning with the efforts of major Korean companies to strengthen their AI infrastructure.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun are greeting Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, at the Korea-US Business Roundtable held at the Willard Hotel in Washington DC in August.

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Hyundai Motor Group entered into a strategic partnership with Nvidia in January to jointly develop AI-based technologies such as robotics, autonomous driving, and smart factories. Together with its robotics affiliate Boston Dynamics, Hyundai is considering the application of AI chips for vehicles.

SK Group is also strengthening its collaboration with Nvidia. SK Hynix has become a key memory partner for Nvidia by supplying HBM3E, while SK Telecom is working with Nvidia to build AI data centers.

Chairman Lee and Chairman Chung, who are staying in Gyeongju to attend the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, will travel to Seoul for the meeting and then return to Gyeongju on October 31 to attend a dinner hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. On the same day, CEO Huang is scheduled to speak at a special session of the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju.

Meanwhile, on October 29 (local time), Nvidia's market capitalization surpassed $5 trillion (approximately 7,100 trillion won) for the first time. On the New York Stock Exchange that day, Nvidia's share price closed at $207.04, up 2.99% from the previous trading day.