Financial Times scoop: 'Huang is thinking of a sensational return to the helm of Nvidia'

Jensen Huang is weighing a dramatic return to the helm of Nvidia, following Thursday's resignation and the scandal over extramarital affairs, one of which was with a Chinese woman suspected of being a spy for Beijing. His allies in Silicon Valley are pressuring the board to reinstate him, while Huang has reportedly discussed with some collaborators the possibility of returning to his post, all likely with the support of the White House as well. A supporter of Huang, according to the Financial Times, reported that a sort of "war room" is being set up, composed of Silicon Valley gurus, with the aim of advocating for the return of Nvidia's former CEO and seeking backing from President Donald Trump as well, who is closely tied to Huang. "Everyone who matters in the tech industry, outside the frontier labs, holds Jensen in high esteem," a source told the City newspaper, adding that the initiative enjoys Huang's own support. Among the executives who signed the petition for the manager's reinstatement, well over 100,000 signatures, are Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games. The attempt to reinstate the chief executive could, however, run into opposition from key figures in Washington: on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a "profound renewal" of the company's leadership following Huang's departure. The FT scoop came just hours after Bessent's interview on Fox News, in which he urged Nvidia's board to appoint an external CEO in the post-Huang era. His remarks came in the middle of a clash within the administration between Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over suspicions of chip diversion to China. "What really matters is verifying whether Nvidia had a culture oriented toward respecting US export restrictions," he added. As to whether Alice Huang, a former top executive at Megaspeed — an Nvidia client based in Singapore — worked for Beijing, "I don't care," he cut short, referring to the Chinese woman whose relationship with Huang fueled the scandal. "Jensen's weaknesses are his own business," he said, demanding answers from the board and the internal investigation "within the next ten days." Nvidia "is an extraordinary company" and Jensen Huang is "an incredible innovator," the secretary declared, adding however: "That does not exempt them from compliance obligations." Meanwhile, Lutnick is increasingly under pressure: he reportedly pushed to weaken chip regulations that overlap with the interests of his family's companies. Lutnick, the New York Times reported, has often clashed with officials over regulating the sale of Nvidia chips in Asia. Cantor Fitzgerald, the company he ran and left to his sons when he joined the Trump administration, counts among its clients the data centers in Asia, powered by Nvidia chips, used by Chinese companies as a loophole to circumvent US export bans. According to Semafor, Lutnick is expected to travel to China with Donald Trump this week, ahead of the Shenzhen Apec summit. All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA