- TSMC founder Morris Chang asked Nvidia founder Jensen Huang to take over as CEO in 2013.
- In a new memoir, Chang reveals he set out his vision for TSMC for 10 minutes before Huang declined.
- Huang said, “I already have a job,” Chang recalled.
The founder of Taiwanese chip giant TSMC has revealed he once asked Jensen Huang if he would succeed him as the company’s CEO.
But Huang, the founder and CEO of AI chipmaker Nvidia, turned the role down in less than 10 minutes and said “I already have a job,” Morris Chang wrote in his memoir, published Friday.
In the memoir, Chang writes he was looking for a successor to lead TSMC in 2013. He said that Huang’s character, professional background, and deep knowledge of the semiconductor space made him an ideal frontrunner for the role.
Huang listened intently as Chang spent 10 minutes explaining his ambitions for TSMC, but said he was determined to keep his focus on Nvidia, Chang writes.
Nvidia has since become one of the world’s most valuable companies, fuelled by the AI boom. Huang has been CEO and president since founding it in 1993.
Huang and Chang have shared an amiable relationship that spans their professional endeavors.
In the early years after its launch, Nvidia exclusively partnered with TSMC to produce its chips. In 1998, TSMC helped supply Nvidia with production workers when it was short-staffed.
Nvidia now works with various chipmakers but remains one of TSMC’s biggest customers, along with Apple.
Having founded TSMC in 1987, Chang, 93, stood down as CEO in 2018 and was replaced by C C. Wei, the current CEO. According to Forbes, Chang has a personal wealth of $4.1 billion.
The latest memoir, his second volume of autobiography, details his life from 1964 to 2018.
