Three billionaires went out for chicken and beer, and paid for everyone’s meal

By_Suraj Karowa/ ANW

October 31 2025

Seoul, South Korea – October 30, 2025 – In a scene more befitting a buddy comedy than a boardroom, three of the world’s most powerful tech billionaires – Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung – walked into a bustling fried chicken joint in downtown Seoul, ordered “chimaek” (chicken and beer), and paid for everyone’s meal. The impromptu gathering, held ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, blended Korean pub culture with high-stakes semiconductor strategy.

Patrons at Kkanbu Chicken – a chain whose name doubles as Korean slang for “best friend” – erupted in cheers as the trio, with a combined net worth of $195 billion, linked arms for a traditional beer toast. Huang, whose Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company with a $5 trillion market cap, live-streamed his arrival, declaring, “I love fried chicken and beer with my friends, so Kkanbu is a perfect place, right?”

The menu was pure comfort: cheese balls, cheese sticks, boneless chicken, wings, and pitchers of Terra beer paired with shots of soju. Video captured Huang ringing the restaurant’s “golden bell” – a signal to cover the entire tab – though Samsung’s Lee ultimately paid the first round, and Hyundai’s Chung covered a second. Huang stepped outside to distribute chicken baskets to a growing crowd, shouting, “Anyone? Fried chicken?”

The lighthearted outing masked serious business. Nvidia dominates the AI chip market, Samsung is the world’s largest memory-chip maker, and Hyundai is pivoting aggressively into electric and autonomous vehicles. All three need each other: Nvidia wants guaranteed foundry capacity, Samsung seeks AI design wins, and Hyundai requires cutting-edge GPUs for self-driving systems.

APEC Summit Delivers Concrete Commitments
The fried-chicken diplomacy paid immediate dividends. On Friday, Huang met South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung and announced Nvidia would supply more than 260,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) to Korean firms, explicitly naming Samsung, Hyundai, web giant Naver, and chipmaker SK Hynix.

The pledge targets “physical AI” – real-world applications like autonomous vehicles and smart factories.

Company
Role in AI Ecosystem
Nvidia Partnership Focus
Samsung
Memory chips, foundry
HBM supply, AI chip production
Hyundai
EVs, robotics
GPU-powered autonomous driving
Naver
Cloud, search
AI data centers
SK Hynix
DRAM, NAND
High-bandwidth memory (HBM)
Huang’s visit comes amid U.S.-China tensions over AI chip exports. Fresh from trade talks with President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at APEC, access to Nvidia’s latest processors remains a geopolitical flashpoint. South Korea, caught between its U.S. security alliance and massive China trade, is racing to secure supply chains.

Markets Cheer the Alliance
Wall Street responded enthusiastically. Nvidia closed up 1.8% at $154.27, pushing its market cap back above $3.8 trillion. Samsung preferred shares rose 2.4% in Seoul, while Hyundai Motor gained 3.1%. The broader KOSPI index jumped 1.9%, its best day in three weeks.

“This isn’t just PR,” said Kim Dae-jong, a tech analyst at Seoul’s Sejong University. “Nvidia needs HBM3E memory that only Samsung and SK can produce at scale. Hyundai’s robotaxi program needs thousands of Drive Orin chips. The chicken was symbolic – the GPUs are the main course.”

Cultural Diplomacy Meets Corporate Strategy
The Kkanbu outing echoes a long Korean tradition of sealing deals over food and drink. In 2018, Samsung’s Lee hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook at a barbecue restaurant; in 2023, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won took Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg for late-night pork belly. But the scale here is unprecedented – three industry titans, one casual diner, zero security visible inside.

Social media exploded with memes: Huang’s leather jacket became “the new power suit,” and #ChimaekSummit trended globally. One viral clip showed a diner asking for Huang’s autograph on a chicken box; he signed it “To my Kkanbu.”

Broader Implications for Global AI Race
Supply Chain Security: South Korea now accounts for 60% of global HBM production, critical for training large language models. Nvidia’s 260,000-GPU commitment locks in capacity for 2026–2027.

Autonomous Vehicles: Hyundai aims to launch Level 4 robotaxis in Seoul by 2027; Nvidia’s chips will power the compute.

U.S.-China Decoupling: Trump’s administration has restricted advanced chip exports to China. South Korea’s neutral stance – and its fabs – make it a critical alternative.
President Lee Jae-myung hailed the deal as “a milestone for Korea’s AI sovereignty,” pledging $20 billion in subsidies for domestic chip and EV battery R&D.

What’s Next?
Nvidia will open an AI research center in Seoul by Q2 2026, staffed by 300 engineers. Samsung is expected to announce a multi-year HBM supply contract next month. Hyundai teased a concept “AI Mobility Hub” integrating Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs.

For now, the image endures: three billionaires, arms intertwined over beer glasses, toasting friendship in a chicken shop. In the cutthroat world of semiconductors, sometimes the strongest alliances are forged over wings and soj