Nvidia boss Jensen Huang ahead of South Korea visit – Firstpost

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said companies should pay workers “as much as possible”, weighing in on a growing debate over how the massive profits generated by the artificial intelligence boom should be shared between shareholders and employees.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the Computex technology trade show in Taipei, Huang was asked about Samsung Electronics’ recent agreement with its labour union that will deliver substantial bonuses to thousands of chip engineers after months of negotiations.

“I’m not an expert in that area,” Huang said. “I think people should be paid as much as possible. Ask my employees — literally, I do that.”

“I pay my employees as much as I can,” he added. “But that’s just what I do. It doesn’t make this right.”

The remarks come as Nvidia sits at the centre of the global AI boom that has transformed the semiconductor industry and generated unprecedented wealth for technology companies and investors.

Nvidia’s shares have surged more than 1,170 per cent over the past five years as demand for its AI chips has exploded, helping the company become the world’s most valuable publicly traded corporation. The rally has also created significant wealth for employees through stock-based compensation, with many long-serving workers becoming millionaires as the company’s valuation soared.

The issue of employee compensation has gained prominence in South Korea, where Samsung Electronics recently reached a deal with its union to avert the threat of industrial action. The agreement is expected to provide eligible workers with bonuses worth roughly $330,000 this year, based on market estimates of the company’s operating profit.

Samsung has emerged as a key beneficiary of the AI investment cycle, supplying high-bandwidth memory chips that are critical for AI servers and data centres. Strong demand for such components has boosted profits across the semiconductor supply chain.

Huang is due to arrive in South Korea on Friday for a series of meetings with the country’s leading technology and industrial groups, including SK Group and Hyundai Motor Group.

According to local media reports, discussions are expected to focus on robotics, autonomous systems and so-called “physical AI” — a term increasingly used to describe AI technologies that interact directly with the physical world through robots, vehicles and industrial machines.

At Computex on Monday, the company unveiled a new AI-focused processor for Windows laptops, intensifying competition with Apple, AMD and Intel in the emerging market for AI-powered personal computers.

With inputs from agencies.