One of the iconic black leather jackets by Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang was auctioned on Friday by US$960,000 in New Yorkwell above its initial estimated value of between US$40,000 and US$60,000.
«For more than a decade, Huang wore this type of jacket at Nvidia’s landmark product launches, at developer conferences, in major announcements that helped define the rise of artificial intelligence, and even while eating zhajiangmian noodles on a street corner,» the statement from auction house Sotheby’s said.
He also wore it in the cover of the issue of Time magazine dedicated to the most influential people of 2021, reported AFP.
Forty-five collectors competed for the garment. The auction house specified that it is «one of the most recognizable pieces of clothing» in the technology sector, «linked to one of the emblematic figures of the era of artificial intelligence (IA)».
«Huang’s love of leather jackets has become a defining element of his public image, and many of his most recognizable appearances include Tom Ford designs,» the statement added.
Since the black t-shirts of Apple founder Steve Jobsuntil gray t-shirts of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerbergfigures from the technological world usually associate themselves with a garment from which they rarely separate themselves.
Sotheby’s stated that the jacket was photographically identified by the PSA company as belonging to Jensen Huang during the Hon Hai Tech Day in Taipei (Taiwan) on October 18, 2023. The interior of the jacket features a gold signature of the businessman, which has been authenticated by James Spence Authentication.
A spokesman for Huang told New York Timesin June 2023, that the director of the American semiconductor giant had been wearing this jacket «for at least 20 years.»
This auction item is part of a philanthropic initiative organized by Long Journey Ventures to benefit the Edge Institute, a nonprofit organization that «brings together people working at the frontiers of technology, science, culture and society in temporary villages to live together and experiment in pursuit of a brighter future,» Sotheby’s reported.
Proceeds will fund scholarships, grants and residencies for the next generation of young creators.
According to Forbes, Huang has a net worth of $175 billion, making him the seventh richest person on the planet. In addition, Fortune placed it at the top of its ranking of the most powerful people in the world in 2025, the year in which the company became a leader in the technology sector.
Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 and dedicated his career to finding a way for computers to recreate real-life images as faithfully as possible.
The explosion of Artificial Intelligence made graphics processing units (GPUs) coveted in the market, while the company quickly positioned itself as a specialist in the sector of semiconductors designed for AI.
With information from AFP
