Huang Thanks Sega for Life-Saving 1995 Bet in Tokyo Reunion

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met former Sega president Shoichiro Irimajiri and game designer Yu Suzuki in Tokyo this week to thank them for a $5 million investment in 1995 that helped keep Nvidia alive when the company was close to collapse. He said the support from Sega and Irimajiri meant Nvidia “would not be here today” without them.

The reunion took place in Tokyo on Wednesday, according to Reuters reporting and related coverage. Huang said Nvidia had been nearly out of business in 1995 after making the wrong technical bet, and he credited Sega’s backing with giving the startup enough runway to survive.

At the time, Nvidia had failed to deliver a chip Sega had ordered, and Huang asked Sega to convert the remaining contract payment into an investment rather than simply paying for unfinished work. Sega agreed, and Irimajiri approved the rescue.

That $5 million stake became one of the most famous near-miss investments in tech history. Nvidia later recovered, went public, and grew into one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Huang used the Tokyo visit to publicly acknowledge the role Sega and Yu Suzuki played in the company’s early history, calling their friendship, support, and belief in Nvidia deeply meaningful.