Huang, who has consistently held the leadership position at Nvidia since its inception, conveyed to Mr. Chang, "I am already committed to my current professional responsibilities," a pivotal moment recounted by the esteemed 93-year-old in his memoir. This literary work chronicles his life's journey from 1964 to 2018 and was made available to the public on Friday.
The second volume of Mr. Chang's autobiography meticulously presents his remarkable 25-year tenure at Texas Instruments and the subsequent establishment of TSMC in 1987. This follows the release of the first volume in 1998, which focused on his early life experiences.
In this latest installment, Chang discusses TSMC's relationships with major clients like Apple and Qualcomm, as well as Intel's missed opportunity to invest in TSMC during the 1980s before it became a significant customer.
Chang also reflects on his more than 20-year friendship with Huang, who has transformed Nvidia into one of the most valuable companies globally, particularly in light of the growing interest in artificial intelligence.
Over the years, both men have publicly acknowledged each other's contributions, with Huang attributing part of Nvidia's success to Chang's influence.
In the book, Chang shares that during his search for a successor in 2013, he considered Huang an ideal choice due to his character, experience, and knowledge of semiconductors.
"I spent about 10 minutes clearly outlining my high expectations for TSMC," Chang recounted. He noted that Huang listened attentively but ultimately replied, "I already have a job."
Chang made another attempt a few weeks later, but Huang remained firm in his decision.
"Jensen’s response was straightforward: he 'already had a job!' That job was to elevate Nvidia to its current status, 11 years later," Chang wrote.
Nvidia has not yet responded to inquiries regarding Chang's book.
Chang also mentioned that when Huang was looking for a manufacturing partner for Nvidia, he was fully committed to choosing TSMC.
In 1998, TSMC contributed by sending two production staff members to assist Nvidia, which was experiencing a staffing shortage at the time.
Chang also mentioned that during the 1980s, he sought funding for TSMC by reaching out to Gordon Moore, who was the CEO of Intel.
Despite the decision of the U.S. chip manufacturer not to invest, they subsequently became a client of TSMC, engaging in contracts for the production of their most recent laptop chips.
Mr. Chang noted that since 2021, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has been aiming to transform the company into a foundry competitor.
While expressing his best wishes for this initiative, Mr. Chang highlighted that Intel's traditional business model, which emphasizes internal production of its own chips, could present challenges for this transition, as foundries typically manufacture chips designed by other firms.