The Moment Jensen Huang Realized Nvidia 'Won't Have to Die' Came After a Call From This CEO: 'For the Whole Time, 30 Years…'

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang detailed how repeated unanswered calls and a personal letter helped create the company’s decades-long relationship with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM). Huang recounted the story on Wednesday, during a vlog in Taiwan with podcaster Lex Fridman. In the late 1990s, Nvidia needed a manufacturer for its graphics chips, but foundry capacity was limited. Huang located TSMC’s U.S. office in the Yellow Pages and called repeatedly. "Nobody called me. Nobody called me back," Huang said. He eventually sent TSMC founder Morris Chang a lengthy letter seeking help. Chang later contacted Huang and invited him to Taiwan. “Maybe we won’t have to die,” Huang said, thrilled that the TSMC CEO ultimately responded. Huang visited TSMC and rival United Microelectronics Corp. (NYSE:UMC), saying both companies impressed him before Chang’s focus on integrity, governance and long-term partnerships won Nvidia’s business. Chang assured Jensen that his company would go to great lengths to support a potential partnership. “For the whole time, 30 years, they’ve been jumping through hoops for us,” Huang told Friedman. In a March Lex Fridman podcast, Huang confirmed that TSMC founder Morris Chang even offered him the chance to lead the chipmaker in 2013. Huang said he was deeply honored by the offer but declined because he was committed to Nvidia’s long-term vision and believed the company’s potential impact was too important to walk away from. “And so I declined it, not because it wasn’t an incredible offer. It’s an unbelievable offer, but I simply couldn’t take it,” Huang said. Read Also: NVDA-Led AI Boom Looks a Lot Like the Railroad Bubble of 1873, Pulitzer-Winning Historian Warns How TSMC Helped Save Nvidia From Collapse The relationship emerged when Nvidia faced severe financial pressure. A previous account of Huang’s letter, described by Morris Chang, indicated that Nvidia was near bankruptcy before the partnership helped redirect its trajectory. “We were a billion-dollar company at that time, and to be a major customer of ours, he would have to produce revenue for us of at least $50 million a year,” Chang said. Nvidia’s chip’s success helped Huang avert financial collapse and establish the company as a leader in gaming and graphics, making it one of TSMC’s top five customers within two to three years. The partnership later became strategically important as Nvidia moved from graphics processors into AI hardware. In November 2025, Huang praised TSMC’s support for Blackwell chip production amid what he called "very strong demand." TSMC Revenue Jumps 41% on AI Demand Huang’s comments came in a day before TSMC reported third-quarter revenue of $46.72 billion, up 41.2% year over year and 16.2% sequentially, beating analyst estimates of $45.62 billion. TSMC posted a 66.4% gross margin, a 58.7% operating margin and a 51.1% net profit margin. Advanced technologies of 7-nanometer and below accounted for 79% of wafer revenue, with 2-nm technology contributing 8%, 3-nm 33%, 5-nm 28%, and 7-nm 10%. Price Action: Year-to-date, Nvidia’s stock has soared 14.82%, as per Benzinga Pro. TSMC surged 35.78% during the same period. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Read Also: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Rejects Sam Altman's Advice to 'Accept' AI Cybersecurity Risks: ‘We Should Do Everything…to Avoid Them’ Image via Shutterstock