Lee Jae-yong congratulates Nvidia's Jensen Huang on Van Fleet Award, Samsung runs Times Square tribute

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended the Korea Society Gala Dinner in New York on Tuesday (local time) to congratulate Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on receiving the 2026 Van Fleet Award.

The meeting was the first between Lee and Huang since the two met at an AI Summit in San Francisco in July, about two months ago.

To mark the award, Samsung Electronics ran a commemorative video on a Times Square billboard from 6 p.m. Sunday (local time) through Monday.

The video highlighted Huang's innovative leadership and key achievements in advancing the AI industry, alongside a congratulatory message.

The Van Fleet Award is presented by the Korea Society, a nonprofit organization, and is named after Gen. James A. Van Fleet, who commanded the US Eighth Army during the Korean War. The award is given annually to an individual or organization that has contributed to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the United States and South Korea.

In 2006, the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee received the award in recognition of his contributions to US-Korea economic cooperation and the development of bilateral relations.

Huang was selected as this year's recipient in recognition of his role in driving innovation in AI and accelerated computing and his contributions to expanding AI and semiconductor industry cooperation between the two countries.

The congratulatory video on the Times Square billboard was built around four keywords representing Huang — Pioneer, Architect, Builder and Friend — tracing his major activities and accomplishments through each lens.

A separate video, set against a virtual exhibition space, walked viewers sequentially through Huang's key activities and vision, conveying the significance of the award.

Samsung Electronics and Nvidia have maintained a long-standing partnership across a range of fields, including memory chips and system semiconductors. In recent years, the two companies have been expanding that collaboration as the AI era takes hold.

Samsung Electronics is pursuing the construction of an "AI factory" that combines Nvidia's accelerated computing and digital twin technologies with its own semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, applying AI across the entire process from research and development through design and production.