Jensen Huang was on top of the world.

The company he leads, Nvidia, derives its name from the Latin term for envy. Yet when questioned last month, Huang couldn’t identify anything he coveted. “I lead a wonderful life,” he stated near the conclusion of a 75-minute conversation with TIME, before enumerating his blessings: his fulfilling marriage, his grown children, and his two canines, which had just been given clean bills of health from their veterinary scans.

Then there was his career: heading the planet’s most valuable corporation, valued at approximately $4.3 trillion. “We’re creating the most consequential technology humanity has ever seen,” Huang remarked, alluding to the semiconductors driving the AI transformation. “This would be anyone’s ultimate aspiration.”

While it’s hardly shocking that the globe’s eighth-wealthiest individual appreciates his existence, Huang likely had a specific cause for his exceptional cheerfulness during our late November meeting for TIME’s 2025 feature. A twelve-month rapport with President Trump was flourishing and, crucially, starting to yield returns. Following years of being hammered by American export restrictions that blocked his chips from reaching the profitable Chinese, Saudi, and UAE markets, Trump appeared poised to deliver precisely what Huang desired.

This became evident merely three days prior to our discussion, when Huang convened with Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman (MBS) in Washington. Following those sessions, the U.S. administration declared that tens of thousands of Nvidia processors ordered by Saudi Arabia and the UAE—but detained for months over national security fears they could be diverted to China—would be cleared for shipment. MBS captivated Huang by describing the numerous Nvidia-equipped gaming computers he maintains in his Riyadh residence, and expressed to the Nvidia chief that he was “appreciative of all we’ve done to assist him” in securing the export permits, Huang recounted. “He was simply extremely, extremely pleased.”

There were also indications that Huang’s prospects in China were finally improving.

In 2022, the Biden Administration imposed substantial limits on semiconductor exports to China, operating under the assumption that curbing Beijing’s access to premium chips would secure American victory in the AI competition. Upon Trump’s return to power, despite his pro-technology acceleration platform, it remained uncertain whether he would dismantle those constraints—which had expanded on policies he himself had crafted during his initial term. In fact, at one stage this year, Trump seemed to be contemplating tightening chip export regulations. Chinese exasperation culminated in Beijing prohibiting Nvidia chips completely this summer, forcing the firm to announce publicly that its China income had evaporated to zero. Huang was displeased.

Yet behind closed doors, Nvidia was petitioning the Trump Administration with a persuasive case: export restrictions were backfiring. They merely spurred China, the reasoning went, to hasten its own chip development initiatives, thereby creating a scenario where American technological dominance would cease—an enormous risk to U.S. national security. Under this perspective, Nvidia’s sale of its own semiconductors to China would undermine the feasibility of that Chinese endeavor, consequently enhancing American national security, while simultaneously reopening a market generating tens of billions in tax revenue. “We desire America to be the most prosperous nation so we can finance the most powerful military,” Huang explained to me. “I believe that’s our method of bolstering national security.”

That argument appeared to be gaining traction (notwithstanding objections from numerous national security experts, who maintain that export controls function perfectly well). On the day of our interview, media reports surfaced that Trump was weighing permission to ship Nvidia H200 chips to China—a major triumph for Huang and his corporation. These represent the most advanced processors from Nvidia’s previous “Hopper” series, substantially superior to the best chip legally exportable to China under prior regulations (though still inferior to the Blackwell chips Nvidia presently markets to American clients). Shortly before TIME’s Person of the Year article was published—honoring Huang and fellow “Architects of AI” as the year’s most influential figures—the U.S. administration verified that the speculated easing of export restrictions was in fact occurring. Huang had won.

Leaning back in his seat as our conversation concluded, Huang kept enumerating his sources of gratitude. He and his spouse planned to spend the upcoming weekend in San Francisco, he mentioned, preparing their own meals, and maybe seeking out an excellent French dip sandwich. Yet one sensed the true source of Huang’s affability resided elsewhere. “I lead an uncomplicated existence, and I cherish it,” he declared, grinning. “I cannot envision a more ideal life.”