Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia (right), and C.C. Wei, CEO of TSMC, talk at TSMC's annual sports day in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on November 8. Yonhap News.  Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has reportedly placed additional wafer orders with Taiwan's TSMC due to surging demand for its cutting-edge "Blackwell" chip.

Speaking to reporters at TSMC's annual sports day held in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on November 8 (local time), Huang stated that there is "very strong demand" for their graphics processing units (GPUs) using the latest "Blackwell" architecture, according to Reuters and Bloomberg.

He explained, "Nvidia produces GPUs, but also CPUs, networking equipment, and switches, so there are many chips related to Blackwell."

He added that the demand for wafers purchased from TSMC is also increasing, stating, "TSMC is playing a very excellent role in wafer support."

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei also confirmed to reporters, "Huang has requested (additional) wafers," but declined to disclose specific quantities, citing confidentiality.

Wafers, thin silicon discs, are key raw materials that serve as the substrate for semiconductor chips.

Huang also revealed that Nvidia has received samples of cutting-edge chips from SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Micron Technology.

When asked if he was concerned about memory supply shortages, he responded, "In a period of business growth, there can be shortages of 'other things'," adding, "The three memory (semiconductor) manufacturers have greatly expanded their production capacity to support us."

Regarding the outlook for memory price increases, he commented generically, "How they operate their business is their decision."

Nvidia's product sales to China have been effectively halted amid ongoing US-China trade tensions since the beginning of the year.

It has also been reported that the US government recently decided not to allow the export of Blackwell products intended for China, which had been a point of interest.

Huang had stated to reporters in Taiwan the previous day that Nvidia is not currently in export-related discussions with China.

Yonhap News