'NVIDIA Day' Falls Flat After Madison Huang's No-Show; Government and Local Companies Also Taken Aback

A string of event cancellations disrupts schedules of South Korean CEOs
AI industry watches closely for fallout from CEO risk

Deepu Talla, NVIDIA’s vice president of robotics and edge AI, delivers a keynote address at “NVIDIA AI Day Seoul 2026” at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Nov. 9, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

"I was overseas on a business trip and rushed back over the weekend to meet Madison Huang, but my entire schedule has been thrown into disarray."

Government and business officials in Korea have been unable to hide their dismay after Madison Huang, senior director at NVIDIA and the eldest daughter of CEO Jensen Huang, abruptly canceled her visit to Korea, which had been planned to coincide with NVIDIA AI Day Seoul 2026, the company's largest event in Korea, on Nov. 9.

A meeting with Bae Kyunghoon, deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT, was suddenly canceled the previous evening, just one day before it was scheduled to take place. The "Korea AI Startup Partnership Forum," which was to be co-hosted that afternoon by Ryu Jemyeong, second vice minister of science and ICT, was also changed. Major events scheduled to begin that morning, including a photo session with Kakao Mobility, were canceled one after another.

The opening ceremony went ahead as scheduled, but some attendees who had planned to visit COEX to see Madison Huang turned back. This prompted concerns in some quarters that NVIDIA AI Day might end up being only a partial event.

A Korean startup CEO who had been preparing to meet Madison Huang said, "I had an important overseas commitment, but I rearranged my schedule and rushed back to attend today's event. I have to leave the country again, so this has caused a major disruption to my schedule." As speculation emerged that the cancellation of her visit was linked to the alleged involvement of a person romantically involved with Jensen Huang in Chinese espionage, NVIDIA explained that she had changed her plans because of a family matter and her schedule in the United States.

A domestic neural processing unit (NPU) company that had been looking forward to meeting Madison Huang was also unable to hide its disappointment over the last-minute schedule changes made over the weekend. When CEO Jensen Huang visited Korea last June, he met over pork belly and soju with SK Group Chairman Choi Taewon, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwangmo, and Naver Chairman Lee Haejin. He then held a "Korea AI Ecosystem Reception" at The Shilla Seoul, inviting around 50 promising Korean startups. However, domestic NPU companies such as FuriosaAI, Rebellions, and DeepX were not invited. As if to make up for that, events featuring meetings with domestic NPU companies had been planned as a central part of this year's NVIDIA AI Day, but those plans fell through when Madison Huang's visit was canceled.

An NPU company official said, "At an event in the first half of this year, most of the major domestic AI startups were invited, while NPU companies were left off the list, which did prompt some criticism. This time, NPU companies were among the main invitees, and specific discussions were planned, so it's disappointing that they won't happen." Another startup official said, "Given NVIDIA's influence in the AI industry, this was an opportunity for domestic startups to raise their profile and promote themselves internationally. Cooperation and competition with NVIDIA are both very important, so it's unfortunate that an opportunity to explore overseas expansion and growth for Korean companies has been diminished."

Korean companies that had boasted close ties with Jensen Huang through their "Kkanbu gathering" are also busy recalculating their strategies. The situation is escalating as Jensen Huang reportedly acknowledged having an affair with a woman identified as a Chinese spy, broadening the issue into one involving U.S.-China relations and national security. Lee Seongyeop, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Management of Technology, said, "Risks related to CEO Jensen Huang have come to the fore, and I believe there is also a possibility that sanctions on China will be tightened in the future. Since many Korean companies are working with NVIDIA, they will need to closely monitor the situation and respond accordingly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.