Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang gave the tech world the crossover no one knew it needed, complete with wardrobe swaps and gushing compliments.
But their collaboration goes far beyond an Instagram shot: their relationship is a pillar that supports the S&P500 index.
Facebook founder Zuckerberg posted a photo with titan Huang captioned “Jersey swap” on Instagram, a social media app he owns.
The photo showed Zuckerberg wearing Huang’s signature black leather jacket, while Huang wore Zuckerberg’s brown and cream shearling coat.
With Zuckerberg’s net worth at $175 billion and Huang’s $79.5 billion, the post quickly captured the imagination of followers and gained more than 151,000 likes within 24 hours of posting.
While fans flocked to comment on the couple’s outfits, the fanboying didn’t stop there.
Responding to a fan who was unfamiliar with Huang’s identity, Zuckerberg, a father of three, responded: “She’s like Taylor Swift, but for technology.”
The “Taylor Swift of technology”
Swift has dominated the news over the past year thanks to her “Eras Tour,” which featured the ‘Love story’ The singer became a billionaire and generated so much economic activity that Wall Street began writing notes on her activity.
Huang has had a similarly stratospheric start to 2024.
Shares of the chipmaker are up nearly 90% year to date so far, with Wall Street remaining generally bullish on future prospects.
Zuckerberg also hinted that this won’t be the last unexpected interaction between the pair.
Responding to another comment, Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout, said: “I gave Jensen a black shearling coat for his collection that I will give to him next time I see him.”
The comments section on “Zuck’s” Instagram page also provided a tongue-in-cheek glimpse into what the pair might have discussed.
One user wondered whether the meeting involved Meta buying H100 chips, which Zuckerberg said in January he had stockpiled to a level of 340,000 by the end of the year.
But Zuckerberg responded: “Planning for those B100s.”
Nvidia’s “Blackwell” B100 is an AI chip already used by Amazon Web Services.
Why the Zuckerberg-Huang connection matters
The relationship between Meta and Nvidia is mutually beneficial.
For starters, Meta is widely considered one of Nvidia’s largest customers.
In January, Zuckerberg said he was spending billions of dollars a year on H100 chips, saying his company was building a “massive computing infrastructure.”
In an Instagram post, he added that this will include 350,000 Nvidia graphics cards.
On eBay, these chips are selling for up to $48,000, while analysts told CNBC they expect the company to sell directly for between $25,000 and $30,000.
Huang has also been outspoken about Meta’s contribution to the AI race.
Speaking at the world government summit in Dubai earlier this year, Huang said: “Let’s face it, the most important thing that happened last year – if you ask me – the most important event last year and how it triggered AI researchers here in this region is actually Llama 2.”
Llama 2 is Meta’s large open source language model, available free for both research and commercial use.
And while Huang has signaled Meta’s contribution to the industry, Zuckerberg’s confidence in the supply of chips – a concern for many tech companies – will also allow him to deliver on the AI promises that have bolstered Wall Street’s confidence in the sector.
Zuckerberg’s wealth has soared since he took a step back from his metaverse dream to focus on artificial intelligence technology.
For Meta’s largest individual shareholder, the combination of the “year of efficiency” of 2023 and the fact that artificial intelligence has become the company’s priority led to a raise of almost $40 billion last year .
In fact, in February the term “AI” was used more than 80 times by Meta staffers on the call, a move that proved to be a surefire way to pique investor interest.
Thanks to the positive picture that Zuckerberg and his team had for analysts and the clear demonstration of attention to emerging technology, Meta’s share price increased by 20% in the hours following the announcement.
The support between the pair comes right at the top of the stock market: the pair are two of the “Magnificent 7” stocks, the titanic stocks that have supported the S&P500 index in recent years.
This smooth relationship between the two has contributed to confidence among investors and rising share prices for both – Meta is up 42% in the year to date – meaning the multi-billion dollar bromance could go much deeper of outerwear.