Samsung's Lee, Hyundai's Chung join Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang-led global AI advisory forum

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung have both joined a global AI leadership forum led by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The three are set to meet in San Francisco this week, then again in Silicon Valley in November.

Industry sources said Thursday that Lee and Chung have been appointed as global advisory members of "Silicon Valley & the World," a global CEO forum set to be held in Silicon Valley in November.

The inaugural event will have five co-chairs. Huang has served alongside Iconic Capital founder Divesh Makan, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet and Google President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat, and AMD CEO Lisa Su as co-chairs since May.

The global advisory council under the co-chairs also includes Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Sony Group CEO Hiroki Totoki, Anthropic President Daniela Amodei, Citigroup Chair Jane Fraser and ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet, among others.

More than 40 global leaders representing not only technology companies but also finance, investment, manufacturing and public policy have joined the advisory body. Members are tasked with setting the forum's key agenda and strategic direction, and with exploring avenues for cooperation with global policymakers.

Advisory members will be divided into four working groups: a "Frontier Council" for CEOs of advanced technology companies, a "Capital Council" composed of AI infrastructure investors and financial institutions, a "Builder Council" centered on companies applying AI in industrial settings, and a "Founders Council" for founders of next-generation unicorn startups.

"Silicon Valley & the World" is designed to connect business leaders developing AI and advanced technologies with government, financial and industry leaders who use those technologies to shape national strategies, policies and regulatory frameworks.

The two-day November event in Silicon Valley is expected to draw about 350 participants, including founders and CEOs of global technology companies, senior government officials, key figures from the financial sector and policymakers from major economies.

Key topics on the agenda include AI and national competitiveness, energy demand, capital formation, national security, labor market shifts, and the relationship between the influence of technology companies and public authority.

The forum will operate on a "live journalism" format, with journalists conducting direct interviews and moderated discussions with key figures. The concept goes beyond standard corporate presentations, aiming to foster substantive cooperation between the companies building technology and the government, financial and industry players adopting it across society.

The event's organizer, Semafor, is a US-based global media startup co-founded in 2022 by Ben Smith, a former BuzzFeed editor-in-chief, and Justin Smith, a former Bloomberg CEO.

Chung already has ties to Semafor. In April, he served as an advisory member of the "2026 Semafor World Economy" forum held in Washington, D.C., and attended the event in person.

In an unusual show of force, Hyundai Motor Group sent nearly its entire senior leadership to that event — Chung was joined by Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon, President Sung Kim and Hyundai Motor President Jose Munoz.

Chung shared Hyundai Motor Group's future vision in an interview, while Munoz took the stage as a presenter to outline the group's US business and future mobility strategy. Genesis also participated as a partnership sponsor, setting up a dedicated brand space at the venue.

While "Semafor World Economy" is a broad forum covering the global economy and industry at large, the newly launched "Silicon Valley & the World" is a technology-focused forum centered on AI and advanced technology.

Meanwhile, Lee, Chung and Huang are also expected to meet at the "San Francisco AI Summit," running Friday through Saturday, on the sidelines of President Lee Jae Myung's visit to the United States — ahead of the November forum. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Naver board chairman Lee Hae-jin are also expected to attend, and the business community has taken to calling the gathering a "US-edition close allies meeting."