By now, you have probably heard: Nvidia’s cofounder Jensen Huang resigned Thursday after he confirmed having an affair with a woman who is alleged to be a Chinese spy, in what sounds like a page ripped from a James Bond thriller. Reports now suggest that Huang also had at least two other affairs with employees at Nvidia.
The scandal is rife with intrigue and all-too-real consequences—including national security concerns and a major hit to the financial markets, as Nvidia’s share price continues to fall.
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) was down about 5% in afternoon trading on Thursday at the time of this writing, after suffering double digit losses over the past few days since the scandal broke.
Altogether, the developments shine a spotlight on Huang’s unique geopolitical value, as he—and his AI chips—sat at the center of the U.S. AI arms race with China. Nvidia controls about 90% of the advanced chips market used for AI, per The New York Times.
His departure is a big loss for Nvidia—one that goes beyond his outsized personality, which made him one of tech’s biggest media darlings.
It also goes beyond his close proximity to President Donald Trump, who earlier this week defended and praised Huang for doing a “fantastic job.” (Reports say that Trump knew about Huang’s alleged relationship: According to The Washington Post, Trump was briefed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the situation on May 12 on Air Force One, and The New York Times reported Trump was briefed about Jensen Huang and Alice Huang’s ‘close relationship’ as early as October 2025.)
“Sadly, greatness doesn’t guarantee goodness. It’s disappointing,” venture capitalist Sarah Guo wrote on X. “The Economist says ‘no one is irreplaceable.’ They are very wrong.”
Huang’s value comes not only from the fact that he built and co-founded Nvidia—and remains the company’s largest individual shareholder—but also from his close personal and business ties and connections in Asia, with, among others, semiconductor maker TSMC and its founder Morris Chang, which has contributed to a massive supply chain pipeline for Nvidia.
Another issue: Huang’s departure from Nvidia’s comes at a critical political moment, on the heels of the Democratic party’s so-called “blue tsunami” sweep into Congress in last week’s midterm elections, which ushers in a new era for Silicon Valley—and could likely bring an abrupt end to its cozy relationship with Washington’s Republicans.
“Congress must demand answers from Mr. Huang and others at Nvidia about how they may have put U.S. national security at risk,” Democratic leader Senator Chuck Schumer posted on X Thursday. “The Trump administration must also answer for what it did once it learned about Mr. Huang’s relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset. Were government officials told not to investigate because of Trump’s relationship with Mr. Huang? What did Trump know when he personally invited Mr. Huang aboard Air Force One?”
