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Imec, a world-leading research and innovation hub in advanced semiconductor technologies, proudly announces Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, as the recipient of the 2026 imec Lifetime of Innovation Award. With the award, imec recognizes Huang’s instrumental role in enabling accelerated computing technologies and empowering critical AI applications across industries – fueled by the invention of the graphics processing unit (GPU). The award ceremony, including a video interview with Jensen Huang, will be held on May 19, during imec’s ITF World conference in Antwerp, Belgium.
Jensen Huang founded NVIDIA in 1993 and has served since its inception as president, CEO, and member of the board of directors. Under his direction, the company introduced the programmable GPU in 1999, underpinning modern computer graphics and revolutionizing parallel computing. More recently, GPU deep learning ignited modern AI with the GPU acting as the brain of computers, robots and humanoids, and self-driving cars that can perceive and understand the world.
Luc Van den hove, CEO of imec: “The significance of the (programmable) GPU’s invention cannot be overstated. What started as highly specialized processors for the video gaming market, have become foundational to accelerated computing and to AI as a new computing paradigm – transforming every industry. Jensen Huang is therefore not only the founder and CEO of NVIDIA, but one of the architects of modern computing.”
The imec Lifetime of Innovation Award is granted annually to individuals who have demonstrated transformative contributions to the field of technology and innovation. “With this award, we celebrate innovation as a commitment to curiosity, to risk-taking, and to building technologies that fundamentally shape society,” explains Luc Van den hove. “By presenting the 2026 Lifetime of Innovation Award to Jensen Huang, we profoundly honour someone who embodies all of that. His work and visionary leadership has re-shaped computing, ushered in the age of AI, empowered entire industries, and inspired generations of engineers and researchers.”
In 2016, imec presented the imec Lifetime of Innovation Award to the late Dr. Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel and creator of Moore’s law. Luc Van den hove: “Ten years later, it is clearer than ever that we must break new ground to keep this most impactful forecast going – driven by the explosive growth of AI and its diversifying needs. We are convinced that, next to dimensional scaling, full system-stack co-optimization is the way forward, and we are proud to share this vision with AI leaders like NVIDIA. To unlock the opportunities of the next wave of AI, we must link industry innovation with academic research and engage with all key players in the semiconductor ecosystem, including system companies such as NVIDIA.”
"It has been a privilege to do my life’s work alongside the extraordinary colleagues at NVIDIA — together reinventing computing and helping to ignite the AI industrial revolution. Our achievements stand firmly on the foundations laid by pioneering institutions like imec and the fundamental advances of the semiconductor industry that have made modern computing possible. This recognition is not only a tribute to our work at NVIDIA, but to the global community of scientists, engineers, and innovators whose breakthroughs continue to expand the horizons of what computing can become." says Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA.
Prior to founding NVIDIA, Huang worked at LSI Logic and Advanced Micro Devices. He holds a BSEE degree from Oregon State University and an MSEE degree from Stanford University. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Semiconductor Industry Association’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award; IEEE Founder’s Medal; the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award, and, very recently, was named the IEEE Medal of Honor recipient.
