00:00What a fall from grace and from top of the AI food chain for Jensen Huang.
00:06So he's stepped down as the CEO and president of NVIDIA.
00:10The chief financial officer, she's taken over as the interim CEO.
00:16Of course, the hunt is on for the full-time CEO of NVIDIA.
00:20And there are many questions around NVIDIA being raised right now across the world.
00:24But as Jensen Huang stepped down, as investigations intensify into an alleged espionage or sexpionage,
00:33as it's been called in the United States, there's another story that's making the headlines.
00:37Reports of a third affair.
00:40Again, with another senior employee of NVIDIA.
00:43Now, details are still sketchy, not yet out in public domain.
00:48But there are apprehensions that there could be other skeletons that could tumble out of Jensen Huang's closet.
00:56Take a look at this report.
01:00He built NVIDIA into the powerhouse of the artificial intelligence revolution,
01:05turned computer chips into one of the world's most valuable commodities
01:09and became the most influential executive in the global AI industry.
01:16But after 33 years at the top, Jensen Huang is out,
01:21ousted following revelations about multiple personal relationships.
01:25One of which has now triggered serious questions about China, American technology and national security.
01:31And the fallout is no longer confined to NVIDIA's boardroom.
01:38NVIDIA shares plunged as much as 14% after the news of Jensen's ouster before recovering some ground.
01:45Closing Thursday down 4.3%, more than $500 billion wiped off its market value since the scandal broke.
01:53The selling spread to AI-related companies, including Micron, Marvel and Coreweave.
01:59As investors confronted a question that had long been overlooked,
02:03can the world's most important AI chipmaker thrive without the man who built it?
02:08Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been named Interim CEO,
02:13but her immediate challenge is much bigger than steadying NVIDIA's share price.
02:18She must reassure investors, protect billions of dollars in AI investment in companies like OpenAI,
02:25XAI, Antropic, Intel, SSI,
02:28and convince customers that NVIDIA's technological dominance does not depend on one individual.
02:37At the heart of the controversy is Huang's reported relationship with Alice Huang,
02:42a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed,
02:45a major buyer of NVIDIA chips that has faced scrutiny over possible diversion
02:50of restricted American technology to China.
02:53The Justice Department is examining potential export control violations,
02:58while questions have also emerged about whether Alice Huang had links to Chinese intelligence.
03:04But American authorities have not yet established that she was a spy,
03:09and both NVIDIA and Megaspeed have denied wrongdoing.
03:12True. So you assume that DOJ learns that she is in fact a spy. I'm not, nobody said that. I
03:19certainly
03:20haven't said that. And I don't, all I said a minute ago and all that I think I will say
03:25is that,
03:25of course, DOJ is an investigator looking at it. So I, there's no, there's no conclusions reached by
03:30the Department of Justice or by me or by Director Patel around who she is or is not. I don't
03:36have
03:36concerns with the Commerce Department. I don't. We have a good relationship with the Commerce
03:40Department. I've read some of the stories, which, you know, are sourced or not sourced. And so
03:45I don't have any, but no, I don't have, the answer to your question is no, I don't have any,
03:49I don't have any concerns.
03:50The distinction is crucial because while the espionage allegations remain unproven,
03:56the investigation into possible chip diversion could have consequences for the entire global AI
04:01supply chain. The political fallout is gathering pace in Washington where Democrats are demanding
04:09answers about whether sensitive American technology may have reached China and whether national security
04:15was compromised. It was the right thing to do. Now we have to get to the bottom of whether America's
04:22national security has been compromised. We need a classified briefing made available to members
04:28of Congress as it relates to the NVIDIA situation and to the extent that our national security has been
04:36compromised. The American people deserve answers and we're going to work to make sure that happens.
04:43With congressional scrutiny expected to intensify, NVIDIA now faces the prospect of tougher export restrictions,
04:50more aggressive oversight and potential greater limitations on its access to the Chinese market.
04:56And that could also deliver a major blow to Chinese AI developers, many of whom still depend on American
05:03chips to power their most advanced systems. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump added his own
05:10unexpected twist to NVIDIA's succession drama, publicly suggesting that former Apple chief Tim Cook
05:16take over the chip maker. Calling both men legends, Trump's intervention has thrown another
05:22spotlight on the spotlight on a company already under intense political and investor scrutiny.
05:28For Huangli's NVIDIA, the immediate priority is stability. But the long-term challenge is whether it can
05:35preserve the business empire, its dynamic founder and former CEO created, including its closely interconnected
05:42investments, customers and partnerships across the AI industry.
05:47Rivals AMD, Intel and Broadcom could see an opening, while investors will be watching whether customers
05:55reconsider their dependence on NVIDIA and whether Washington's next moves disrupt the global chip trade.
