Asia’s biggest tech trade show has always attracted IT insiders to Taiwan. Now, Computex Taipei is Nvidia central, with fans flocking to spot the chipmaker’s leather jacket-wearing, selfie-taking CEO, Jensen Huang.
I flew to Taipei for this year’s event and found that Nvidia’s dominance was on clear display even outside the venue, where a striking green Nvidia banner outshone Computex’s event wrap.
The theme continued inside the conference halls, where nearly 1,500 companies compete to show their most advanced gear. Over three days at the tech show, I spotted the “Nvidia partner” sign prominently displayed alongside countless exhibitors’ names.
“Everyone wants to ride on Nvidia’s wave,” an exhibitor associated with Nvidia told me.
Taiwan’s “Jensanity” isn’t new. Last year, Huang signed a woman’s chest at Nvidia’s booth. But the 2025 Computex spotlight on Nvidia reinforces that the Taiwanese tech industry and the broader economy are ever more intertwined with one company, even as Nvidia navigates changing political winds and a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Andrew Hou, the president of pan-Asia Pacific operations at Taiwanese PC maker Acer, said on Wednesday that interest in Computex was flagging before 2024.
Thanks to the burgeoning interest in AI tech, it has become “so crowded” at Computex since last year, Hou said at a briefing on Wednesday. He also namedropped Huang — without mentioning Nvidia — during the press event. Acer is a Nvidia partner.
The Santa Clara, California-based AI giant has so much street cred in Taiwan that even a half-name drop will do.
On Tuesday, Foxconn chairman Young Liu referred to “Jensen” in his keynote speech at Computex when he was describing a meeting about AI-powered manufacturing.
‘Jensanity’
Huang arrived in Taipei on Friday afternoon.
The Taiwanese cannot get enough of the Tainan-born native who migrated to the US as a child. They camp at his hotel, outside his regular hair salon, and around restaurants. The devotees are seeking sound bites, selfies, and autographs.
Much of Huang’s story resonates with the Taiwanese public, including his rise from humble immigrant beginnings to building a three-trillion-dollar business from scratch. His consistent dad-biker style also helps.
On Tuesday, much of the chatter at Computex centered on business, not Nvidia — but that didn’t stop attendees from mobbing Huang when he showed up on the exhibition floor.
“I want to take a photo with him,” a woman squealed as other excited fans thrust pen, paper, and their mobile phones into Huang’s path.
Chenbro Micom, a storage and server chassis maker, seized the moment by blasting a man saying “Chenbro, Chenbro, I love you!” on repeat as Huang walked past its booth. The Taiwanese firm is an Nvidia partner.
Folk AI hero
Huang also made a guest appearance at Taiwanese chip firm MediaTek’s CEO keynote on Tuesday.
On stage, MediaTek boss Rick Tsai gifted Huang a bag of fruits from his favorite night market fruit stall and spelled out “Jensen’s” appeal to the Taiwanese: He’s authentic and approachable.
On Monday, I found people patiently queued up to buy Nvidia merch from a van parked in front of Taipei Music Center, where Huang gave his keynote speech. By lunch, after Huang’s speech ended, there were about 80 people in line, even though the mercury was hovering around 88 degrees.
KJ Hsieh, a Taiwanese who works in business development, endured the blistering sun in his suit to snag a bag of merch. He told me he plans to wear the T-shirts on his coming vacation to Dubai.
“I was interested in what Jensen Huang had to say because I used to be an engineer,” Hsieh told me.
The merch sold well, a salesperson told me. Some products — including a backpack and play cards — were already sold out for the day.
Some buyers, like 26-year-old engineer Jim Wu, did not even attend the keynote.
A self-professed Huang and Nvidia fan, Wu took time off work on Monday morning to snap up the merch — shirts and a thermal cup — in case they sold out.
It took real effort. Wu works in Hsinchu, a 30-minute high-speed rail ride away. He declined to be photographed as his manager did not know what he was up to with his last-minute time-off request.
“Nvidia is a really successful company that I hope to work with one day,” Wu told me.
Boosting Taiwan’s tech stardom
Huang has leaned into his roots in the US, showcasing Taiwanese night markets at March’s GTC in San Jose, California, and paying tributes to his heritage.
On Monday, he greeted the keynote audience in Mandarin Chinese and gave a shout-out to his parents sitting in the back of the concert hall. On Tuesday, he cracked jokes onstage with Foxconn and MediaTek’s decidedly more staid executives.
It’s good PR, and it works both ways.
The Nvidia boss consistently champions and highlights Taiwan tech, from chips to hardware. It’s a far more upbeat narrative for the island compared to the international headlines highlighting a potential invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as its territory.
On Monday, Huang announced a joint initiative to build an AI supercomputer with the Taiwanese government, TSMC, and Foxconn. He also announced a big new headquarters in Taipei.
For the many under-the-radar Taiwanese companies that are the backbones for household names from Apple to Microsoft, Huang’s showmanship and Nvidia’s dominance in AI are helping them shine, too.
During Huang’s keynote speech, he paid a video tribute to Nvidia’s many Taiwanese partners of Nvidia. The reel showcased the journey of a basic TSMC chip to an Nvidia Blackwell GPU, and beyond.
“That was pretty incredible, right? But that was you, that was you. Thank you,” Huang said to a rapt audience, who broke out in appreciative applause.
Read the full article here
