One hour later, Jensen and Timothy met again in the same room.

"I've had time to think about your offer, Mr. Huang," Timothy began, his tone even. "And I'll be honest—I'm considering it. But before I make any real commitment, I have a few things I want clarified."

Jensen nodded, folding his hands neatly. "Of course. Go ahead."

"First," Timothy said, "you mentioned the twelve billion dollars earlier—the remainder of the payment from our chip deal. If I were to proceed with building a foundry, would that capital be the main funding source?"

"Correct," Jensen confirmed. "That's the initial basis."

"Then technically," Timothy leaned slightly forward, "I'd just be using my own money—the payment you owe me. That's not exactly NVIDIA's investment. It would mean I'm shouldering the entire financial risk from day one. And let's be realistic here—a full-scale semiconductor foundry, even a modest one, would need north of twenty to thirty billion dollars to construct. And that's not even counting operational costs, workforce training, and securing lithography equipment."

Jensen's lips curved into a knowing smile. "You're right. And that's precisely why I'm here. NVIDIA isn't just looking to pay off what we owe you—we're looking to partner. On top of the twelve billion, we're prepared to invest an additional ten billion dollars in cash and assets, in exchange for equity and joint operational rights in the new facility."

Timothy raised a brow. "Ten billion? That's not small change."

"No, it's not," Jensen agreed. "And we can mobilize that immediately through a mixture of internal capital and strategic partners, some of whom are already showing interest, including sovereign investment funds and private equity firms familiar with semiconductor infrastructure. What we're offering is not just money—we're offering access to our ecosystem: engineers, design tools, clients, contracts. The moment you open that facility, we can flood it with demand."

Timothy listened quietly, his fingers steepled under his chin. "That's a compelling proposition. But let's talk about the catch—the exclusive deal. I assume you're still expecting that?"

Jensen chuckled softly. "Of course. Exclusivity ensures stability and mutual growth. You'd have one guaranteed client, you wouldn't need to fight for orders. NVIDIA would absorb everything you make."

Timothy gave a faint smile, though there was a hint of defiance behind it. "I'm afraid that's where I'll have to decline."

The room fell still for a moment. Jensen's smile faded slightly, not out of offense, but curiosity. "Decline?"

"Yes," Timothy said firmly. "I can't agree to an exclusive deal. Not because I don't value NVIDIA's partnership—but because exclusivity would cripple the potential of the foundry before it even starts. If we're going to build something at this scale, it has to be open, flexible, and globally integrated."

He leaned forward, voice steady. "You see, the world's in the middle of an AI arms race. OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Tesla, Amazon, ByteDance—they're all competing for processing power. If I produce chips only for NVIDIA, that limits the foundry's reach, and more importantly, its influence. The market demands diversity and competition. Regulators favor open supply chains. Even the U.S. government is wary of vertical monopolies in semiconductors."

Jensen stayed silent, listening closely as Timothy continued.

"I want this foundry to become a neutral ground—a new major player that serves multiple industries, not just one. That's the only way it will survive in the long term. If I tie myself to NVIDIA alone, it'll look like favoritism, and it'll close doors to potential contracts worth far more than what exclusivity can bring."

Timothy's tone softened slightly, though his conviction remained clear. "That doesn't mean I won't prioritize you. NVIDIA will always get first access to advanced nodes, maybe even co-development privileges on some architectures. But I can't make the entire operation beholden to one company."

Jensen's eyes narrowed slightly, not in anger but in assessment. He could see the logic—and the courage—in Timothy's words.

"That's a risky stance," Jensen finally said. "Most companies would grab exclusivity in a heartbeat. But you… you're thinking about sovereignty."

Timothy smirked faintly. "Let's call it strategic independence."

Jensen nodded slowly, tapping his fingers once against the table. "You've thought this through well. And I can see the logic behind it. Diversification brings resilience, especially with global demand rising. But you realize this will mean more complexity, more scrutiny, and less direct protection from us."

"I'm aware," Timothy said. "But that's how I want it. If we're going to build something world-changing, I want it to stand on its own legs. I don't want the world to see it as NVIDIA's shadow project."

Jensen leaned back, smiling faintly again. "You're bold, Timothy. I respect that. Most people your age wouldn't dare talk like that to me."

Timothy chuckled lightly. "Well, I'm not most people."

That earned a small laugh from Jensen. "Indeed, you're not."

"So how would this affect your partnership with TSMC? You know the one you've built over the years," Timothy asked. "Wouldn't this new venture, our foundry, create conflict? Especially if we start producing next-generation nodes that outperform theirs?"

Jensen's expression didn't waver. He rested his hands flat on the table, the faintest hint of a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "TSMC will always be a partner. But partnerships evolve. Right now, their capacity is stretched thin—Apple, AMD, Intel, even automotive suppliers are all lining up for wafer allocation. If we want to secure our own supply line and push forward with AI development, we can't just rely on one pipeline anymore."

"So this isn't about competing with them," Timothy said, "it's about insurance."

"Precisely," Jensen replied. "Diversification of supply. We don't want to replace TSMC, we want to complement them. What we build together could focus on next-generation nodes, AI-optimized chiplets, and custom fabrication for specialized architectures. In short: cutting-edge innovation that's too risky or secretive to hand over to third parties."

Timothy nodded slowly, considering that. "So you want this foundry to be your experimental wing."

"In a sense, yes," Jensen admitted. "But with full commercial capability. You'd handle the physical side, the engineering, the logistics, the R&D facility. We'd bring the demand, the global clients, and the trust of the market. Do that, you are looking for a revenue of over 20 billion dollars annually."

Timothy grinned by just hearing that number. "Okay, looks like we are in agreement. But remember, I'm starting an automotive company here. Which will be released on the market in 2026."

"No problem with that, the foundry would be under construction by that time. Speaking of construction, we have potential sites in the US."

"No, I don't want it in the United States," Timothy interrupted.

Jensen tilted his head to the side. "Where do you want it built?"

Timothy smiled. "I want it in the Philippines. You see, I'm kind of patriotic."

"Your country? Your political situation right now, the infrastructure—are you sure it's ready for something like this?" Jensen asked, his tone careful, not dismissive but clearly skeptical.

Timothy met his gaze evenly. "I know what you're thinking, and you're not wrong. The Philippines isn't exactly the first place that comes to mind when you say 'semiconductor hub.' But it's not as far-fetched as it sounds."

Jensen leaned back slightly, intrigued. "I'm listening."

Timothy straightened in his seat, his tone confident. "The Philippines already has a growing semiconductor backend industry. We handle packaging, testing, and assembly for major global companies. There's local talent, engineers, technicians, trained abroad and now returning home. Labor costs are low compared to Taiwan or South Korea, and with the right infrastructure investment, we can bridge the gap quickly."

He continued, his expression earnest. "I don't want this to just be a foundry. I want it to be a symbol, a statement that the Philippines can stand shoulder to shoulder with the world's tech powers. We've spent decades being a service economy. It's about time we start producing the technology ourselves."

Hearing that conviction, Jensen sighed. "Fine, we'll make it happen."

"Great."

They both stood and shook their hands.

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