NVIDIA's Jensen Huang brought his distinctive charm offensive with him when he traveled to Japan in mid-July, prompting the Chairman of Sumitomo Electric to declare that Huang has the "spirit of a Japanese business leader from the post-war era."
NVIDIA's CEO bowled over Japanese businessmen with his old-school charm offensive during a mid-July visit, where he inked a deal for Japan's first national AI factory
As we reported recently, Jensen Huang had a few drinks and munched on Yakiton at a pub in Kanda, Tokyo, during his mid-July visit to Japan. He also made a surprise visit to the Build-a-Claw event in Tokyo, Japan, where he held a short Q&A session, reaffirming that Vera Rubin was progressing as planned, and also shared a few words on a possible future opportunity with Rapidus.
Of course, the highlight of the trip was the mammoth deal that consists of 13,750 Vera CPUs and 27,500 Rubin GPUs, and is intended to power Japan's first AI factory, replete with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 racks and Spectrum-X networking.
NVIDIA also agreed to power an initiative by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), where its computational prowess will enable a shift to robotics to overcome the country's deteriorating demographic headwinds, with major Japanese automotive and industrial robotics heavyweights conveying their willingness to join this ambitious venture.
While the multi-billion-dollar deals that were signed during Huang's Japan-focused stint already qualify the visit as an uncontested success, it was the personal charm displayed by NVIDIA's CEO that really won over Japanese industrial heavyweights.
For instance, Sumitomo Electric's Chairman Matsumoto declared after meeting Huang that he has "the spirit of a Japanese business leader from the post-war era," going on to note that NVIDIA's CEO ate just about everything, personally dished out food for his companions, and kept praising every new dish as "delicious!"
To win such effusive praise from the typically staid Japanese business leaders is no small feat. It seems Jensen Huang has perfected the art of winning customers over with a near-perfect balance between charm, cultural respect, and curiosity, and his already hefty star power.
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