Jensen Huang brought a lot more to Nvidia than a cult of personality. Why his downfall hits so hard

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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…

By now, you have probably heard: Nvidia’s cofounder Jensen Huang resigned Thursday after he confirmed having an affair. The woman at the center of it all, Alice Huang, 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 allege that Trump knew about Huang’s affair: 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. Trump, for his part, denied hearing about the situation in May.)

“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.”

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