The Irish Times view on Nvidia: chips are down for the company boss

Jensen Huang’s revelation that he had an extramarital relationship and his apology to his wife and children would in normal circumstances be a matter for himself and those closest to him. But as the founder and chief executive of Nvidia, a chip-maker at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom, anything he does can move the markets.

Donald Trump said this week that the FBI was looking into allegations that Alice Huang, the woman the Nvidia boss was involved with, was a Chinese intelligence asset. News reports cited US intelligence claims that their Chinese counterparts recruited the woman after she met Huang.

Nvidia’s stock market valuation fell by 4 per cent in the hours after Huang’s statement, leading to questions about his future at the head of the company. But the firm, which not only makes the microchips that power the AI industry but finances many of its actors, will be slow to part with the man who has led it for more than three decades.

Donald Trump has expressed confidence in the Nvidia boss, telling reporters that Huang told him he had no idea that Alice Huang was alleged to be a spy. Jensen Huang was instrumental in persuading Trump to relax export controls on the sale of Nvidia’s microchips to China, although the most advanced versions are still restricted.

Beijing has dismissed the spy story as an attempted smear but the official reaction has been restrained. This may reflect Chinese president Xi Jinping’s determination that his meeting with Trump next week in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen should be a success. The US and China are negotiating a successor deal to the agreement struck last year to reduce reciprocal trade measures. Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to join his Chinese and American counterparts in Shenzhen.

The scandal surrounding Huang could yet have serious consequences for Nvidia and the broader AI economy for which it is the beating heart. But the story has not so far disrupted efforts to establish a more cooperative relationship between the world’s two biggest powers, and that is welcome.