The IEEE has named Jensen Huang the latest recipient of the 2026 IEEE Medal of Honor, the highest accolade the organisation can bestow upon a person dedicated to advancing technology in the service of humanity, recognising his role in shaping accelerated computing. Alongside the medal, Huang will also receive the accompanying $2 million prize.
Jensen Huang is a name that seemingly needs no introduction these days, but for those of you who don’t know, he is the CEO of NVIDIA, one of the most influential technology companies of the modern era, with a market capitalisation that has crossed the trillion-dollar mark.
Under Huang’s leadership, NVIDIA has expanded from creating GPUs, which have become integral to AI computing, into data centres and automotive platforms, while its technologies increasingly serve artificial intelligence research and scientific simulation.
And it seems that the man in the jacket isn’t slowing down any time soon.
The IEEE’s Medal of Honor was awarded to Huang in recognition of his lifetime of visionary leadership and pioneering work in accelerated computing, which has changed the way that modern workloads are processed. His work puts him among the ranks of other technological heavyweights who have also received the award for their contributions that have fundamentally altered the trajectory of technology. These include Gordon Moore (of the Moore’s Law legacy) for his integrated-circuit processing leadership; Andrew Grove, a key figure in the semiconductor industry; Vinton G. Cerf and Robert Kahn, architects of the Internet; Bradford W. Parkinson, credited with GPS; Morris Chang, founder of TSMC; and Jack Kilby one of the inventors of the integrated circuit.
In recent years, Huang has accumulated a growing list of honours. In 2025 alone, he received multiple awards, including, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, and the Professor Stephen Hawking Fellowship. He was also named the Financial Times’ ‘Person of the Year’. These accolades are a reflection not only of his influence within the technology sector but also of NVIDIA’s growing role in the global economy and geopolitics of computing.
Originally developed around the graphics processing unit, NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform has evolved into a full-stack ecosystem that underpins modern AI development. From enabling large-scale Generative AI models such as ChatGPT to building up world-leading AI factories and hyperscale data centres, its technology is present across nearly every major industry.
Huang’s long-term thinking is key to the company’s success, and while traditional CPU scaling slowed, NVIDIA invested heavily in parallel computing, software frameworks such as CUDA, and developer ecosystems that extended well beyond graphics.
Speaking about the recognition, IEEE President, Mary Ellen Randall said: “The IEEE Medal of Honor represents the pinnacle of career achievement. Jensen Huang’s contributions have advanced the frontiers of technology and enabled innovations whose impact is yet to be imagined. IEEE is proud to honor work that not only defines excellence in our field but inspires the next generation of engineers and technologists.”
Established more than one hundred years ago, The IEEE Medal of Honor was created to recognise individuals whose work has profoundly shaped the engineering and technology landscape.
Huang said: “Receiving the IEEE Medal of Honor is deeply humbling. This recognition reflects the life’s work of thousands of engineers and researchers at NVIDIA. From the invention of the GPU to the engines of modern AI factories, we’ve helped ignite a new industrial revolution. This award belongs to the entire community that built the CUDA ecosystem, advanced computing beyond Moore’s Law, and continues to push the frontier of artificial intelligence. Together, we’re building an incredible future for our planet.”
For the second consecutive year, the IEEE Medal of Honor includes a $2 million prize. The addition reflects both the stature of the award and a broader acknowledgement of the role engineering and science play in addressing global challenges, from energy efficiency and automation to healthcare access and climate resilience.
