The biggest question in the world of tech right now is whether Jensen Huang will remain the CEO of Nvidia, perhaps the world’s most important company. Let’s hope he does. But the more interesting question is whether he can maintain his influence. Let’s hope he doesn’t.
The 63-year-old’s profile has taken a major hit over the last few days due to revelations that he had an affair with Alice Huang, a data center executive who U.S. officials believe is a Chinese spy. On Sunday, Jensen Huang acknowledged the affair and apologized, while Nvidia—saying it had no reason to believe national security had been compromised—pledged to launch an independent investigation.
“I was unfaithful to my wife,” Huang said in a statement that made no mention of the possibility that his mistress may have been a Chinese spy. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
Nvidia—whose stock fell 4.3 percent, or $192 billion, on Monday—has already said that Huang will remain CEO while the investigation is ongoing. That’s good. If Jensen Huang were to be ousted, the stakes could be enormous—not just for the company, but for the entire AI industry, not to mention the ongoing race between the U.S. and China for AI supremacy. Huang is the closest thing there is to Too Big to Fail, Personified.
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