The Nvidia CEO’s advocacy for selling AI chips to China could be previously explained by self-interest, but things have become a lot murkier, says Catherine Thorbecke for Bloomberg Opinion.
Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang speaks to the media at the G20 Innovation Ministerial summit, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S., September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang speaks to the media at the G20 Innovation Ministerial summit, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S., September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
TOKYO: No American argued harder for selling artificial intelligence chips to China than Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang. His recurring advocacy previously could be easily explained by run-of-the-mill self-interest, with billions of dollars at stake. Now, that explanation has suddenly become a lot murkier.
Whether he was wrong or right in what he believed, everything that Huang has spent nearly every public appearance pitching in recent years has gone out the window after reports that he had an affair with a woman US intelligence officials suspect of being a Chinese spy.
Nvidia’s board of directors has said that it has no reason to believe that either national security or company secrets were compromised. Huang, who has admitted only being unfaithful to his wife, pledged to fully cooperate with the board’s independent investigation.
But whatever the results of this probe, and however long it takes, it’s unlikely to easily restore trust.