Jensen Huang’s recklessness leaves Nvidia with no good options

Jensen Huang, the co-founder and leader of Nvidia, is facing a crisis that could cripple the once-unassailable company. On November 8th, in a memo, he admitted to an extramarital affair and apologized to his family and company. A day later, the board launched an investigation into a potential foreign-intelligence effort against him.

Reports suggested he was romantically involved with Alice Huang, a Chinese executive at Megaspeed, a Singaporean data-center company suspected of smuggling banned chips into China. This was not the first time Huang had been embroiled in controversy; he had also been romantically involved with an executive who reported directly to him.

Share prices tumbled after news of his job being in jeopardy. The most troubling questions arise from his entanglement with Megaspeed. American officials suspect Megaspeed of operating across both routes to bypass the chip sales ban to China. Despite these revelations, Huang and the woman remained publicly close, with him insisting their dealings were "completely normal."

As the scandal unfolds, Nvidia's fate hangs in the balance, and Congress is set to scrutinize the administration's handling of the situation.