Samsung, SK go all out to celebrate Jensen Huang's Van Fleet Award

Samsung Electronics and SK Group showed strong support for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in New York after he received the Van Fleet Award on Monday. Samsung ran congratulatory videos in Times Square, while Lee Jae-yong and Chey Tae-won attended The Korea Society’s gala and praised Huang’s role in AI and semiconductor industries. Their appearances reflected the companies’ effort to deepen ties with Nvidia as AI competition intensifies.

The Korea Society gave Huang the Van Fleet Award for his contributions to Korea-U.S. relations and his leadership in AI and semiconductors.

Lee Jae-yong said Huang has made Nvidia the center of what is happening in AI today and redefined what computing can do.

Chey Tae-won said the Nvidia-SK partnership is simple: Nvidia designs the brain, and SK builds the memory.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are key suppliers of high-bandwidth memory and other advanced memory chips for Nvidia’s AI accelerators.

The article says Samsung is manufacturing Nvidia’s Groq 3 language processing units through its foundry business and using Nvidia GPUs across its manufacturing operations.

Published Sep 29, 2026 4:49 pm KST

A video by Samsung Electronics congratulating Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on receiving the 2026 Van Fleet Award is displayed on a billboard in Times Square in New York, Monday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics and SK Group each made a high-profile show of support for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after he received the Van Fleet Award, a prominent honor recognizing individuals who contribute to Korea-U.S. relations.

The two companies' efforts underscore the importance they place on ties with the artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator giant as competition for next-generation memory and computing technologies intensifies.

Samsung Electronics ran congratulatory videos for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on a Times Square billboard in New York City on Sunday and Monday (local time), while Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended the Korea Society’s annual gala, where Huang received the award, in the city on Monday.

The Korea Society honored Huang for his “visionary leadership and transformative contributions” to the AI and semiconductor industries, which it said are central to the evolving Korea-U.S. economic partnership.

In his remarks at the gala, Lee highlighted Huang’s role in reshaping the technology industry and the significance of the bilateral partnership.

“He has made the company the center of everything happening in AI today and redefined what computing can do,” Lee said. “Now he is powering industries around the world and helping them build something far bigger.”

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won speaks at The Korea Society’s annual gala in New York, Monday (local time). Courtesy of The Korea Society

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won also attended the annual gala to congratulate Huang on receiving the award.

Chey highlighted the breadth of the partnership in his toast to Huang. “For Nvidia and SK, the partnership is simple. Nvidia designs the brain, and SK builds the memory,” he said. “Nvidia thinks lightning fast, and SK makes sure it never forgets. And whenever Jensen forgets something, he knows exactly who to call.”

The three last met at an AI summit in San Francisco in July, making the New York gathering their second meeting in about two months.

The two Korean executives made the trip to New York amid packed schedules. Chey arrived after accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his trip to Mexico, while Lee was due to head to London after the gala for the final overseas exhibition of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s art collection.

Their latest show of support for Huang reflects Nvidia’s continued importance to both groups as they seek to strengthen their positions in the rapidly expanding AI market.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are key suppliers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other advanced memory chips for Nvidia’s AI accelerators, but their partnerships with the U.S. chip giant have expanded to next-generation memory technologies and the broader AI infrastructure ecosystem.

Samsung is manufacturing Nvidia’s Groq 3 language processing units through its foundry business, while deploying Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) across its manufacturing operations.

SK Group has also expanded cooperation with Nvidia across areas ranging from AI data centers to chip supplies, while SK hynix and Nvidia are working to jointly develop and optimize AI memory solutions.

Such ties have been reinforced through personal interactions among the companies’ top executives. In recent months, Lee and Chey have continued discussions with Huang, following their widely publicized fried chicken dinner meeting last year and another dinner over pork barbecue this year.

It remains unclear whether any specific business discussions took place on the sidelines of the award ceremony. But officials noted that maintaining close ties with Huang could prove valuable for both groups as their partnerships with Nvidia continue to expand.

“Nvidia itself holds an enormous influence across the AI ecosystem, but Huang’s personal influence is also significant,” an industry official said. “Maintaining close ties with the top executive appears to help strengthen the companies’ broader cooperation with Nvidia.”

周一，英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋在纽约荣获范弗利特奖后，三星电子和SK集团表达了对他的大力支持。三星在时代广场播放了祝贺视频，而李在镕和崔泰元则出席了韩国协会的颁奖晚宴，并高度赞扬了黄仁勋在人工智能和半导体行业所做出的贡献。他们的亮相反映了随着人工智能竞争的加剧，两家公司致力于深化与英伟达的合作关系。

韩国协会授予黄先生范弗利特奖，以表彰他对韩美关系的贡献以及他在人工智能和半导体领域的领导才能。

李在镕表示，黄仁勋已经使英伟达成为当今人工智能领域的中心，并重新定义了计算的能力。

Chey Tae-won 表示，Nvidia 与 SK 的合作关系很简单：Nvidia 设计大脑，SK 制造内存。

三星电子和SK海力士是英伟达AI加速器高带宽内存和其他先进内存芯片的主要供应商。

文章称，三星正在通过其代工业务生产英伟达的 Groq 3 语言处理单元，并在其整个制造业务中使用英伟达 GPU。

发布于2026年9月29日下午4:49（韩国标准时间）

周一（当地时间），一段三星电子制作的视频在纽约时代广场的广告牌上播放，祝贺英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋荣获2026年范弗利特奖。图片由三星电子提供。

在英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋获得范弗利特奖（一项表彰为促进韩美关系做出贡献的个人的著名荣誉）后，三星电子和SK集团都高调表示支持。

随着下一代内存和计算技术的竞争日益激烈，这两家公司的努力凸显了它们对与人工智能 (AI) 加速器巨头建立联系的重视。

周日和周一（当地时间），三星电子在纽约时代广场的广告牌上播放了祝贺英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋的视频。与此同时，执行董事长李在镕周一出席了韩国协会在纽约举行的年度晚宴，黄仁勋在晚宴上获得了该奖项。

韩国协会表彰黄永强对人工智能和半导体行业的“远见卓识的领导和变革性贡献”，并表示这些行业对不断发展的韩美经济伙伴关系至关重要。

李在晚宴致辞中强调了黄在重塑科技产业方面发挥的作用以及双边伙伴关系的重要性。

李说：“他让公司成为当今人工智能领域一切发展的中心，并重新定义了计算的能力。现在，他正在为世界各地的行业提供动力，帮助他们构建更宏大的事业。”

SK集团会长崔泰元周一（当地时间）在纽约举行的韩国协会年度晚宴上发表讲话。图片由韩国协会提供。

SK集团董事长崔泰元也出席了年度颁奖晚会，祝贺黄获得该奖项。

Chey在向黄仁勋敬酒时，着重强调了双方合作的广度。“对英伟达和SK来说，合作模式很简单。英伟达负责设计大脑，SK负责构建内存，”他说道。“英伟达思维敏捷，SK则确保它永不遗忘。而且，每当黄仁勋忘记什么的时候，他都知道该找谁。”

三人上次见面是在 7 月于旧金山举行的人工智能峰会上，此次纽约之行是他们在两个月内的第二次会面。

两位韩国高管在行程安排紧凑的情况下前往纽约。崔志远在陪同李在明总统访问墨西哥后抵达，而李在明则在出席已故三星会长李健熙艺术收藏的最后一次海外展览的晚宴后，计划前往伦敦。

他们最近对黄仁勋的支持反映了英伟达对这两个团体的重要性，因为他们都在寻求巩固自己在快速增长的人工智能市场中的地位。

三星电子和 SK 海力士是英伟达 AI 加速器高带宽内存 (HBM) 和其他先进内存芯片的主要供应商，但它们与这家美国芯片巨头的合作已经扩展到下一代内存技术和更广泛的 AI 基础设施生态系统。

三星通过其代工业务生产英伟达的 Groq 3 语言处理单元，同时在其制造业务中部署英伟达图形处理单元 (GPU)。

SK集团也扩大了与英伟达在人工智能数据中心、芯片供应等领域的合作，而SK海力士和英伟达正在共同开发和优化人工智能内存解决方案。

这些关系通过公司高管之间的私人互动得到加强。近几个月来，李健熙和崔志远继续与黄志强进行磋商，此前他们曾于去年共进炸鸡晚餐，并于今年再次共进烤猪肉晚餐，此事当时广为人知。

目前尚不清楚颁奖典礼期间是否进行了任何具体的商业洽谈。但相关人士指出，随着双方与英伟达的合作关系不断拓展，与黄仁勋保持密切联系对双方都可能大有裨益。

一位业内人士表示：“英伟达本身在人工智能生态系统中拥有巨大的影响力，但黄仁勋的个人影响力也不容忽视。与这位高管保持密切联系似乎有助于加强公司与英伟达更广泛的合作。”