Over the past week, the public and media in Taiwan have closely followed the movements of NVIDIA’s CEO, Huang Renxun, who has become a new idol for Taiwanese fans at the age of 61.
Based in Santa Clara, California, this technology company is playing a vital role in supporting OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other applications with its processors, leading to a surge in its stock price and a market value surpassing that of Apple. NVIDIA’s valuation surpassed $3 trillion on June 5, ranking second in the world after Microsoft.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company has had an unusual past, and if it weren’t for someone who had never worked there showing unique kindness, the company would have closed down long ago.
It is this experience that Huang Renxun deeply remembers and is grateful for to this day. Every company needs a bit of luck on the road to success, as well as the need to build popularity and reputation. The higher the net worth, the more necessary this becomes.
Since NVIDIA’s birth in 1993, Huang Renxun has been serving as the CEO. He mentioned that without the help of a benefactor, NVIDIA would not exist today.
Huang Renxun himself said that without Mr. Irimajiri’s help, NVIDIA would not have survived until today.
In 1996, NVIDIA attempted to manufacture graphics processors (GPU) for the Japanese video game company Sega’s Dreamcast console, almost leading to bankruptcy. At a critical moment, the then CEO of Sega of America, Shoichiro Irimajiri, not only did not cause trouble but instead invested $5 million in NVIDIA.
“He was truly great,” Huang Renxun told The Wall Street Journal, “I was pleasantly surprised.”
Mr. Irimajiri’s actions not only saved NVIDIA at a crucial moment but also taught Huang Renxun the most important but often overlooked lesson in entrepreneurship.
During a podcast episode hosted by Sequoia Capital in 2023, Huang Renxun stated: “When starting a company, one should not underestimate people’s kindness.”
In 2023, during a commencement speech at National Taiwan University, Huang Renxun recounted the seemingly desperate experience of the past years, where NVIDIA rose from the ashes after a period of “shame and embarrassment” failure.
At that time, NVIDIA received funding from the Sega contract, but their early risky decisions and significant mistakes almost ruined this opportunity. NVIDIA opted for an unconventional approach, trying to create low-cost chips with quadrilateral image technology rather than the common triangular technology used by other companies.
However, after a year of development, Huang Renxun realized their strategy was wrong and lacked technological competitiveness.
“If we had completed Sega’s gaming console, we would have created technology incompatible with Windows and fallen far behind. If we didn’t fulfill the contract, we would have depleted all funds and faced bankruptcy anyway,” Huang Renxun said in the speech.
“No matter which path we took,” Huang Renxun said, “we would have gone bankrupt.”
Therefore, Huang Renxun decided to confess to Sega, asking them to find another partner while requesting full payment; otherwise, NVIDIA would go bankrupt.
To Huang Renxun’s surprise, the CEO of Sega of America, Mr. Irimajiri, agreed. Mr. Irimajiri trusted Huang Renxun and wanted to help him.
Subsequently, Mr. Irimajiri called Japan to propose a bold idea to the headquarters: Sega should invest in NVIDIA.
After difficult negotiations, Mr. Irimajiri helped NVIDIA secure the $5 million investment from Sega.
“That was all the money we had,” Huang Renxun said, “his understanding and generosity gave us six months of survival.”
In 1997, NVIDIA released a groundbreaking chip, thus saving the company. In 1999, NVIDIA went public in the United States.
In 2000, Mr. Irimajiri resigned as Sega’s CEO and left the company. That same year, Sega sold its NVIDIA shares for about $15 million, proving that Mr. Irimajiri’s advice to help NVIDIA years ago was indeed correct.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Irimajiri and Huang Renxun lost contact over the past 20 years. It was not until 2017 that Mr. Irimajiri accidentally found Huang Renxun’s email address and decided to send him a letter, inviting Huang Renxun or NVIDIA personnel to give a small speech in Japan.
Mr. Irimajiri never expected to receive a response. At that time, Huang Renxun was already a tycoon of a company with a market value of $200 billion, while Mr. Irimajiri is now 84 years old, operating a personal consulting business in Tokyo.
However, to Mr. Irimajiri’s surprise, he received a reply from Huang Renxun the very next day.
“Dear Mr. Irimajiri, receiving your letter was a wonderful and pleasant surprise. The cooperation between NVIDIA and Sega at the outset of NVIDIA’s establishment is one of the happy memories of my life,” Huang Renxun wrote.
He expressed willingness to do anything for Mr. Irimajiri.
“I am more than willing to serve you,” Huang Renxun wrote in the letter to his old friend.
NVIDIA obtained the much-needed $5 million lifeline from Sega, thanks in part to the power of friendship, and the $15 million return that Sega later received was perhaps a testament to their goodwill.