Jensen Huang took a call from Trump, and showed off something else, too | TechCrunch

During a recent appearance at the All-In conference in Los Angeles, Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang received an unexpected, live phone call from former President Donald Trump while on stage.

Although the surprise conversation generated significant headlines, industry observers also focused on the specific hardware Huang used to take the call. The executive answered the phone using Apple's highly anticipated, unreleased foldable smartphone, a premium mobile device that is not scheduled to be available to the general public for more than a month. This subtle promotion of the prototype highlighted the shifting dynamics between Apple and Nvidia, especially considering Apple's current reliance on Nvidia's advanced hardware to run key components of its new artificial intelligence platform.\n\nOnce Huang enabled the speakerphone, the discussion between the two figures turned toward the contentious topic of artificial intelligence safety and governance. Trump expressed skepticism regarding the potential dangers of the technology, labeling the widespread public concern and calls for regulatory pauses as a distraction. He argued that halting development would only disadvantage domestic progress while benefiting global rivals such as China. Huang appeared receptive to these views during the onstage exchange, which aligns with his company's core business interests, as Nvidia's financial performance is heavily tied to the uninterrupted acquisition of its processors by major AI development labs. The onstage interaction highlighted the complex intersection of corporate interests, geopolitical competition, and the ongoing debate over tech regulation.