Jensen Huang's affair with a suspected Chinese spy has raised questions about his leadership at Nvidia amid mounting national security concerns.
AI Brief
Your highlights
Nvidia, considered among the pioneers of America's AI revolution, was rocked after its co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair with a woman suspected to be a Chinese spy, triggering an internal investigation and the largest crisis in the history of the multi-trillion-dollar chipmaker. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been an influential voice in US President Donald Trump's policy on AI. (AFP)Jensen Huang's affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at the Singapore-based Megaspeed, goes well beyond Huang's immediate family and has major implications for US national security, technology and geopolitics, as Nvidia sits at the heart of the global AI race and the US-China rivalry. Trump has announced that the FBI is now investigating the alleged affair, although he did not provide details. Huang has been an influential voice in US President Donald Trump's policy on AI, as much of the US economy leans heavily on Nvidia for advanced chips that train artificial intelligence models. Huang is one of the most successful leaders in the tech industry, banking on the booming demand for AI chips. However, with his reputation in tatters since his admission, questions have emerged about the future of his leadership at Nvidia. Will Nvidia remove Jensen Huang as CEO?Huang co-founded Nvidia as a young engineer in 1993 and oversaw its growth into an AI behemoth, with its market value soaring past $3 trillion as demand for the technology rose. However, Nvidia's board of directors launched an independent investigation into whether Huang was a target of a foreign intelligence effort amid national security concerns after he admitted to the affair. Analysts reportedly say there is a chance that Huang may be removed as CEO after the investigation. "There is clearly risk as discussed that Jensen could be removed as CEO depending on the board investigation and this will add risk to the stock as he is so important to the Nvidia story and strategy globally," Dan Ives, a partner and analyst at investment bank Yorkville Ives, told The Guardian. Removing Huang is easier said than done. Ives said the Nvidia CEO was not easily replaceable and no other person in the management shared his vision that shaped the company for more than three decades. He also highlighted that his family also have leadership roles at the firm, which could complicate a final decision. Also Read | Nvidia, Jensen Huang sued over national security concerns after CEO's affair with suspected Chinese spyAdditionally, Huang is far from an ordinary CEO and has tremendous influence over Nvidia's strategy and relationship with other companies. The 63-year-old CEO also holds sway over the supply of advanced chips that have shaped the growth of several AI companies in the United States, and any setback may deprive the industry of one of its most vocal leaders."The bigger question is whether a successor could maintain Huang’s strategic vision and ability to anticipate where the industry is heading, and how that new leader could be tested along the way if things become difficult," said Ken Mahoney, the CEO and president of Mahoney Asset Management. How can the board remove Jensen Huang?Despite Huang's strong influence over Nvidia, the company's corporate filings say that its board of directors do have the authority to remove him as chief executive without proving misconduct. Under Section 32 of Nvidia's amended bylaws, an officer can be removed at any time, "with or without cause", by an affirmative vote of a majority of directors in office. Section 28 identifies the CEO as one of the company's officers. These provisions mean Nvidia's board can dismiss Huang as CEO without establishing criminal wrongdoing or a breach of company policy. Moreover, Huang does not have majority control of his company like Mark Zuckerberg's Meta or SpaceX's Elon Musk. The company's May 2026 proxy statement shows that Huang beneficially owned approximately 870.6 million shares, representing 3.58% of its outstanding stock as of March 23. Also Read | Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang hired crisis PR firm at least a year before admitting affair: ReportRemoving Huang from the board of directors entails a different process. It requires approval from shareholders holding a majority of the company's outstanding voting power, and removal without cause needs a special two-thirds majority. The board has not yet established whether Huang's affair was a violation of corporate policy, and expressed confidence in his leadership. Huang also received the endorsement of Donald Trump, who called him an "honourable" person. Huang's lobbying influence to weakenFor years, Jensen Huang had lobbied heavily against US policy to tighten export controls to China, arguing that shutting American companies out of the Chinese market would accelerate Beijing's efforts to build its own AI ecosystem. However, the latest row can allow the US to tighten its grip on Nvidia after reports claimed that Nvidia chips were illegally smuggled into China. In an analysis shared by commentator Jukan on X, Andrew Lu, a Taiwanese semiconductor analyst, said the controversy would weaken Huang's lobbying influence against a blanket ban on chip exports to China due to the severity of the matter concerning a Chinese intelligence operation in America. Furthermore, the US Commerce Department's approval of AI chip sales to Beijing-based New Matrix, a shell company with empty offices that allegedly funnelled Nvidia's H200 chips to China, has raised further questions about export-control compliance. Lu said the reports are aimed at forcing the Trump administration to freeze H200 export approvals for China and put Nvidia on a "national security leash".