Jensen Huang, cofounder and CEO of Nvidia, is the 2026 IEEE Medal of Honor recipient. The IEEE honorary member is being recognized for his “leadership in the development of graphics processing units and their application to scientific computing and artificial intelligence.” The news was announced on 6 January by IEEE’s president and CEO, Mary Ellen Randall, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Huang helped found Nvidia in 1993. Under his direction, the company introduced the programmable GPU six years later. The device sparked extraordinary advancements that have transformed fields including artificial intelligence, computing, and medicine—influencing how technology improves society.
“[Receiving the IEEE Medal of Honor] is an incredible honor, ” Huang said at the CES event. “I thank [IEEE] for this incredible award that I receive on behalf of all the great employees at Nvidia.”
With a US $2 million prize the award underscores IEEE’s commitment to celebrating visionaries who drive the future of technology for the benefit of humanity.
“The IEEE Medal of Honor is the pinnacle of recognition and our most prestigious award,” Randall said at the event. “[Jensen] Huang’s leadership and technical vision have unlocked a new era of innovation.
“His vision and subsequent development of [Nvidia’s first GPU hardware] is emblematic of the [award].”
Huang’s impact on technology
Huang’s impact has been acknowledged beyond the realm of engineering. He was named as one of the “Architects of AI,” a group of eight tech leaders who were collectively named Time magazine’s 2025 Person of the Year. He was also featured on a 2021 cover of Time magazine, was named the world’s top-performing CEO for 2019 by Harvard Business Review, and was Fortune’s 2017 Businessperson of the Year.
He is also an IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu eminent member.
This year’s IEEE Medal of Honor, along with other high-profile IEEE awards, will be presented during the IEEE Honors Ceremony, to be held in April in New York City. To follow news and updates on IEEE’s most prestigious awards, follow IEEE Awards on LinkedIn.
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