Morris Chang, the founder of TSMC, requested Jensen Huang of Nvidia to consider taking over as CEO of the Taiwanese chip giant more than ten years ago, but Chang was rejected in ten minutes, according to a new volume of autobiography.
TakeAway Points:
- TSMC’s founder Morris Chang asked Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to consider becoming the chief executive of the Taiwanese chip giant more than a decade ago but was turned down in just 10 minutes.
- In the book, Chang said that while searching for a successor in 2013, he viewed Huang as an ideal candidate because of his character, professional experience, and semiconductor expertise.
Jensen Huang rejects top position at TSMC
In a new book of autobiography, TSMC founder Morris Chang claims that he urged Jensen Huang of Nvidia to consider taking over as CEO of the Taiwanese chip giant more than ten years ago, but Huang was rejected in ten minutes.
Huang, who has served as chief executive of the AI chipmaker since founding the company, told Chang, “I already have a job,” the 93-year-old recounted in the memoir, published on Friday, that recounts his life from 1964 to 2018.
The second volume of Chang’s autobiography covers his 25 years at Texas Instruments and the founding of TSMC in 1987; the first, about his early life, was published in 1998.
According to the report, the new volume recounts some of TSMC’s dealings with major customers such as Apple and Qualcomm, as well as how Intel turned down an invitation to invest in TSMC in the 1980s before becoming a key customer.
Chang also describes his friendship of more than two decades with Huang, who has turned California-based Nvidia into one of the world’s most valuable companies amid a surge of interest in artificial intelligence.
The two men have regularly praised each other in public over the years, with Huang crediting Chang for Nvidia’s success.
In the book, Chang said that while searching for a successor in 2013, he viewed Huang as an ideal candidate because of his character, professional experience, and semiconductor expertise.
“I spent about 10 minutes concisely explaining my deep expectations for TSMC,” Chang recalled. He said Huang listened patiently but responded, “I already have a job.”
A few weeks later, Chang tried again, but Huang was resolved.
“Jensen’s response to me was honest: He ‘already had a job!’ That job was to elevate Nvidia to what it is today, 11 years later,” wrote Chang.
Partner for Nvidia
Chang added that when Huang was selecting a manufacturing partner for Nvidia, he was willing to bet everything on TSMC.
For its part, TSMC sent two production staff to help Nvidia in 1998, when the up-and-coming firm was shortstaffed.
Chang also wrote that he approached Gordon Moore, then CEO of Intel, when he was raising funds for TSMC in the 1980s.
The U.S. chipmaker did not invest but later became one of TSMC’s customers, contracting to make its latest laptop chips.
Chang said Intel CEO Pat Gelsigner had since 2021 set his sights on turning the company into a foundry player.
While he wished the effort luck, Chang said Intel’s long-standing business model, focusing on the in-house production of its own chip products, could make such a move hard, given foundries make chips designed by other companies.
