On Sunday, Nvidia said its board of directors opened an independent investigation into whether Jensen Huang had been the “target of a foreign intelligence effort.”
Huang shared a memo with Nvidia employees earlier in the day in which he said he had been “unfaithful” to his wife.
In October, The New York Times reported that US officials believed that a Chinese intelligence asset, Alice Huang, had developed a relationship with the Nvidia CEO. Alice Huang is an executive for Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer.
As Nvidia teeters on the edge of a national security scandal, some business and tech leaders have begun to weigh in. Here’s what they’re saying.
Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management
On Sunday, Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman suggested people should lead with empathy when it comes to Huang.
“An alert: @JensenHuang is human. And he is an incredible human. Even incredible humans make mistakes,” Ackman said on X. “He takes full responsibility as he should. We should all support him and his family. Onward.”
Chris McGuire, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
Chris McGuire, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the US Department of Commerce shared blame for the national security threat.
He said the department has enacted policies that make it easy for China to access Nvidia most advanced chips.
“@CommerceGov leadership knew that Jensen was sleeping with a Chinese spy and that Megaspeed was a Chinese cutout, but still actively opposed any policies to tighten export controls on Nvidia chips. Why?” he wrote in an X post on Sunday.
“Commerce could have blocked chip shipments to Megaspeed the moment it found out that it was run by a Chinese spy, but it did not. Commerce has also refused to enforce regulations—which ironically remain on the books—that would require exporters to apply for a license to ship large numbers of AI chips to untrusted entities in many countries, which would prevent China from using shell companies like Megaspeed to buy controlled chips,” he added.
McGuire said it’s important that Nvidia takes national security issues more seriously, but also called on the US Department of Commerce to “tighten up export controls.”
Jason Calacanis, angel investor and “All-in” host
Jason Calacanis, an angel investor and host on the “All-In” podcast, said on Sunday that the US is in an urgent contest to lead the global AI industry and that Huang was central to that effort.
“We need to win, for the sake of democracy and humanity. We are all in this together: the left, the right and the center. There is no time for infighting,” Calacanis wrote on X. “Jensen and NVIDIA’s technology are a critical target, and we need to protect them both.”
Calacanis called on the US to rally together against China and “go faster.”
“Act accordingly,” he wrote.
Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville Ives
Dan Ives, a partner and senior managing director at Yorkville Ives, said on Sunday that the situation is a stain on Huang’s reputation.
“This is a black eye moment for Jensen and will spark multiple congressional inquiries at a minimum and will create an overhang,” Ives wrote.
Texas Rep. Michael McCaul
Texas Rep. Michael McCaul said the US should “immediately pause” shipments of advanced AI chips to China until “we can get to the bottom of this incident and ensure our national security is not being undermined.”
“This is a classic move from the CCP’s playbook — and another example of why it can never be trusted,” he wrote.
Shaun Maguire, partner at Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire shared a few thoughts in an X post on Sunday. Maguire called Huang “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of this generation,” who also did something “incredibly dumb.”
He called the decision “bad for America” but doubted Huang had bad intentions.
“two mistakes don’t make a right, and I believe Jensen is irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership,” Maguire said.
Ross Gerber, president and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management
Ross Gerber also discussed the news in an X post on Sunday. Gerber is the president and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management.
“Extremely disappointing to see the news regarding Jensen. A huge error of judgment and at a totally critical time for AI development. Not sure how this shakes out,” he wrote.
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