178 pointsby alexmolas2 hours ago25 comments
  • flowerlad3 minutes ago
    Here's why Jensen is critical to Nvidia as well as the industry:

    Without Jensen Huang's vision, Nvidia might have remained primarily a graphics chip maker, and the deep learning revolution would not have arrived when it did. Long before deep neural networks took off, Huang backed the use of Nvidia GPUs for scientific and general-purpose computing, including the development of CUDA. In 2012, Krizhevsky, Sutskever, and Hinton used Nvidia GPUs and CUDA to train AlexNet, whose breakthrough performance helped ignite the modern deep learning boom. Nvidia's investment in programmable GPUs helped make that breakthrough possible.

    The critical vision was that GPUs could become a platform for computing beyond graphics—and that Nvidia should invest in making them programmable before a large market for that use existed.

    The board should punish Huang without punishing the industry and the nation. For example by cutting his salary and stock to 0 for 2 years.

  • rao-v3 minutes ago
    It's really interesting to me how unaggressive Jensen has been vs. his peers about tighting up control over his company (even during the recent years when he had huge leverage):

    - His board setup is ... odd. He isn't Chairman of the Board (a role over 50% of Fortune 100 CEOs apparently hold). He seems to be responsible for Nvidia having a wierdly more egalitarian structure (all directors including him, are equal with a designated lead independent director)

    - His compensation (~$35M, primarily stock) is ... not up there with other tech CEOs

    - He doesn't seem to have ever pushed for super-voting rights (he only has like ~3.5% of the company), but I guess that's hard to change once you IPO

  • Topfi42 minutes ago
    I recently recalled Nvidia's rather strange reaction to the Gamers Nexus investigation into GPU smuggling [0]. Found it somewhat strange at the time how incredibly agitated the reaction seemed to have been, given Nvidia could sell the same GPUs for the same price essentially instantly without the Chinese market. Their reaction wasn't merely a denial, dismissal or even silence, but very irrationally sounding for a company of their size and standing.

    Why not just sell to not-sanctioned entities, ensure compliance to the best of your abilities and otherwise keep your head down? Again, wasn't like they struggled to find buyers for their chips.

    Considering Megaspeed, I now see this in a very different light. Him cheating is personal and I wish the affected members of any family of a cheater the best, but not relevant for us outsiders.

    Being honey trapped very bad securities wise, but he'd be a victim (and evidence for why we shouldn't discount Mistral in the frontier lab race [1]). If sanctions avoidance went all the way to the top, that is hard to negate even for a board that is interested in keeping him.

    [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H3xQaf7BFI

    [1] https://time.com/archive/7146565/hollandes-popularity-goes-u...

    • tcoff9134 minutes ago
      Aren't open-weight models good for Nvidia's business? Chinese labs releasing models that people can run themselves on Nvidia GPUs creates more potential buyers of Nvidia GPUs.

      I don't think it's good for Nvidia if everyone has to go through a few labs APIs to get access to AI inference.

      It makes sense to me why they would benefit from chinese labs having more compute.

      • stephc_int132 minutes ago
        In the long term, the strategic interest of Nvidia is to avoid having to deal with a business entity that is too powerful.
      • segmondy20 minutes ago
        I wish for US to win the Chinese race if there's one. I would agree that the Chinese getting access to GPUs, building models, making them open weight and also sharing has really pushed the American labs. Without Chinese models, we would probably be 1 year behind where we currently are. Competition is a healthy thing. This competition has increased intelligence so fast and created ridiculous demand on hardware. So it's been great for Nvidia and their stock. I don't know what Jensen knows nor do I believe he could have anticipated how the field would play out. Whatever happens, it's been one heckuva ride for him. Unfortunately there are many people that would love to get into his position, the pay is going to be delicious...
      • idiotsecant22 minutes ago
        NVIDIA is valued far in excess of potential GPU sales. They need the hype train. Running afoul of the US government is bad for the hype train.
    • nine_k26 minutes ago
      If it's not due to a love affair (which is now public), and not just working for PRC out of ideological readons, it might be some kind of secret pressure, some kind of a secret hostage situation, so serious as to force a CEO of the world's top company to act so recklessly.
    • pebble33 minutes ago
      You must be new to nvidia, Petty has been their middle name for a very long time now.
      • Topfi19 minutes ago
        Eh, I have seen their past reaction to reporting they didn't like, such as the HUB DLSS blacklisting and the like. They can be petty, yes, but the reaction to that documentary felt very different, that was another level entirely. It sounded weirdly personal, which is even more suspect given sanctions are a legal issue where even a company with a rather contentious relationship with media would normally launder each reaction through legal.
    • altmanaltman31 minutes ago
      There's news of another affair involving an Nvidia employee. He doesn't really look like a victim in that case.
  • nicerice21 minutes ago
    This doesn't seem like a healthy move for the company's longevity. What else did Jensen do? It's a given that companies that size will be targets for espionage and leak information even without it. This one mistake is enough to end all the value he has-and would continue to add to nvidia? Feels like we're missing information about the whole thing.
    • MattDaEskimoa few seconds ago
      The public face of one of the most important companies in the USA has been compromised.

      He risked his future, the value of his company and shareholders to commit adultery.

      What else is he doing? How can his word be trusted? Who else is influencing him? Do people have blackmail from such encounters?

      All fair questions to ask now.

    • alskdfqlkj6 minutes ago
      A news story was just released with allegations that he had an affair with one of his reports as well: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/11/technology/jensen-huang-n...
    • stonogo2 minutes ago
      Jensen's been lobbying hard for years to get the government to allow selling high-end GPUs to China. It's his position that this will discourage local competitors from getting big enough to meaningfully threaten nVidia's dominance.

      While there's nothing inherently incorrect about this position, the affair with an alleged spy means that he, personally and uniquely, cannot advocate for this policy without seeming compromised. Ironically, if nVidia agrees with him, they have to fire him.

    • _ink_17 minutes ago
      We cannot be sure that we know the full story behind it, nor that we ever will.
    • mattoxic18 minutes ago
      What else did Jensen do?

      There needs to be an else?

    • fermentation4 minutes ago
      why on earth would this be an okay thing? could you follow a leader you couldn't trust hasn't sold all of your IP to competitors?
    • paulpauper10 minutes ago
      That seems like a stretch. companies have faced far worse. this is not Enron or something
  • bushbaba40 minutes ago
    Sounds like he helped China get GPUs in violation of export controls. This puts NVidia in a tough place as keeping him as CEO risks broader legal ramifications.
    • paulpauper12 minutes ago
      it seems like this is the legal equaivent of smoking dope behind the McDonald's ..basically no one cares that much. The govt. could prosecute or make an example.,but whatevah. It's implicitly understood nvdia is a huge success and central to the US tech boom.
  • bartread13 minutes ago
    I said on this a few days ago that he should be thinking about resigning: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50418016

    At the time I didn't think it would happen because of impact on Nvidia's stock price, but at that point we didn't know about his second affair - with Kimberly Powell.

    I'd suggest this latest revelation makes his position untenable, especially if the board found out about the second affair via a source other than Huang himself. He should have spilled the beans on that when the first affair came out, not that it would necessarily have saved him, but withholding the information - if that's what he did - should condemn him. It's another serious lapse in judgement and a failure of integrity that is not befitting of one of the most powerful corporate leaders on earth.

    Goodness knows how his wife is feeling at this point. Certainly makes his apology from a couple of days back ring rather hollow.

    EDIT: The fact that someone like Jensen Huang - who I'd previously considered to be an incredibly smart guy as opposed to a nitwit - can somehow completely implode his life in almost the most ridiculous way imaginable does give me some hope that at least some of the troublemaker ne'er do wells that have wielded so much power over us all over the past decade or so might also experience some just desserts in the not too distant future.

    • zaptheimpalera few seconds ago
      Someone mentioned that the 2nd affair was known about by the board for a long time, and this is pretty common in boards. They don't care until they need ammo to fire someone, and then they use it. It sounds right to me, affairs are very hard to keep secret for someone that public, and then this news dropped right after the first one.
    • paulpauper11 minutes ago
      I'm sure he was thinking about it. doesn't mean he has to. now he probably will
  • gnabgib2 hours ago
    Discussion on source (80 points, 30 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50459703

    > If a post reports on something found on another site, submit the latter.

    https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

  • ajaimk29 minutes ago
    The thought that Jensen Huang might not be CEO of Nvidia when GTA VI comes out.

    He's had the job since before GTA 1 started development.

    • rootusrootus18 minutes ago
      Capitalized Nvidia with $200 of his own money (out of $600 total). If he gets booted, it is certainly the end of an era.
      • agumonkey8 minutes ago
        Maybe he'll pull a jobsian 2nd coming to his own firm
    • paulpauper9 minutes ago
      NVDA may not exist by the time it comes out. or humans for that matter when ASI happens
      • qmmmura minute ago
        Maybe take a break from fox news
  • 17 minutes ago
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  • martincsweissan hour ago
    Yea, I don’t think that’s going to happen.
    • mplewis41 minutes ago
      why not?
      • arcanemachiner33 minutes ago
        The ultrarich typically don't suffer from the consequences of their actions in the current age.
        • rbanffy30 minutes ago
          Unless they screw their shareholders.
          • saalweachter24 minutes ago
            A quick search says, Jensen owns under 4% of NVidia, and they aren't super-voting shares.

            I'm not even sure he'd be able to threaten to sink the stock price by dumping all of his shares on the market at once.

            • rbanffy19 minutes ago
              He can just retire and live happily ever after. The mention to shareholders is pretty much the only thing a billionaire can’t do without getting in trouble.
    • tjwebbnorfolk14 minutes ago
      The CEO works for the board. And the board really doesn't like when their company ends up on the front page of the WSJ for helping a Chinese intelligence agent traffic your company's own product in violation of US sanctions.
  • wewewedxfgdf43 minutes ago
    Steve Jobs, Sam Altman, Jack Dorsey ..... Jensen Huang?

    It's often the Board of Directors that goes and the CEO retains control in the end.

    • nine_k34 minutes ago
      Steve Jobs had been successfully ousted, and he had to bring Next to the then-ailing Apple to get back to the leader position.

      Dorsey resigned himself, wasn't fired.

      • rbanffy30 minutes ago
        And Apple needed an OS, and a credible CEO, desperately.
      • tjwebbnorfolk12 minutes ago
        yea but afaik none of those people helped a Chinese intelligence agent smuggle their own company's product into a country under US sanctions.
  • haunter36 minutes ago
    1, Jensen Huang ousted as a CEO

    2, China isolating Taiwan with an ongoing military drill https://www.reuters.com/world/china/taiwan-says-china-is-con... https://maritime-executive.com/article/analysis-china-s-nava...

    3, Trump meeting Xi next week on the 18th https://www.euronews.com/2026/11/09/donald-trump-plans-to-me...

    • _ink_15 minutes ago
      What is the connection between a Taiwan war and Nvidia?
      • jaggederest9 minutes ago
        Their fabs are run by TSMC, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (even the ones in Arizona, AFAIK)
    • tjwebbnorfolk12 minutes ago
      > China isolating Taiwan with an ongoing military drill

      well, they do this like 6 times a year, it just usually doesn't make the news

    • bigyabai33 minutes ago
      For some measure of nominative determinism, that is a pretty haunting timeline.
  • what_hnan hour ago
    He's done for
  • donkeylazy456an hour ago
    The company that rises due to AI has being ready to fall because of human nature. What a great joke.
  • j4511 minutes ago
    It’s funny how many CEOs don’t get fired for this sort of thing.

    What is it about a Jensen.

    Was anything stolen?

    Is he like a Steve Jobs?

  • LightBug113 minutes ago
    Jensen's fatal mistake was not offering the lady involved a horse.
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  • thrownawayszan hour ago
    It’s pretty clear (if you aren’t a huge idiot) that Jensen is attempting to bury the lede here.

    He knowingly helped advance China’s AI ambitions against the direction of congress. He got caught selling 7.5 Billion dollars of restricted chips to china.

    Also he cheated on his wife with some Chinese woman, which is a totally separate and unrelated fuck up.

    If you seriously think he got tricked by some random woman who batted her eyes, you are out of your mind. He founded the fucking company, he isn’t some clueless executive. He’s also not senile and he doesn’t have dementia. This is the only viable excuse for him to use, but it’s complete bullshit.

    Think about it: He betrayed his longtime wife, who by all accounts supported him from the beginning. He betrayed his company and its shareholders. And he betrayed his country (BOTH of his countries?) who specifically forbid the chips to be sold to china. He’s fucked

    • Dardalusan hour ago
      He cheated on his wife with multiple women, it's coming out... I feel bad for her, everyone's saying she'll get billions and that's nice but she's been completely humiliated.
      • chneua minute ago
        A lot of rich folks have agreements about this kind of thing.

        Its best to not assume anything in regards to their relationship.

      • iknowSFR37 minutes ago
        We have no idea what she’s feeling or what she knew. Careful jumping to any conclusions here.
        • 32 minutes ago
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      • blueone6 minutes ago
        > but she's been completely humiliated.

        That’s a stretch. He’s the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world. Hearing that he had an affair, or multiple affairs, shouldn’t come as a surprise. The only person here who’s humiliated himself is Jensen, for having an affair with a spy. He was too high and mighty to take the simple route and pay for high end escorts who make you feel good for a couple of hours, and then move on with your life. No, he decided he needed to have a whole relationship on the side.

      • xp844 minutes ago
        I don't really feel that bad for her. She's 65 and will become a billionaire in her own right, meaning she can build whatever retirement for herself she can imagine. Their kids are in their 30s. Being cheated on is theoretically embarrassing, but 100% of people who have an opinion about it would be sympathetic to her (I mean, they'd see this as his failing and not her fault). Contrast that with how people will see Jensen ("stupid, reckless, betrayer of his family") and how people may see the women he cheated with (people may assume they were gold-diggers who knew exactly what they were doing).

        I guess what I'm saying is, I'd be happy to be publicly cucked in exchange for at least a billion dollars.

    • ebb_earl_co36 minutes ago
      The phrase is “bury the lede”, not “bury the lead”: I just learned it recently, too.
      • Waterluvian31 minutes ago
        My phone corrects my spelling. Lately it has begun correcting my grammar. How long until it points out idiom misuse?
      • Maxatar32 minutes ago
        They are both correct and used even among journalists.
    • stingraycharles44 minutes ago
      If this is correct, what was his motivation? I fail to see what he could have gained from it, other than a few extra billion in revenue, which they likely would have made otherwise anyway.
      • thrance30 minutes ago
        You don't become a billionaire by leaving money on the table. Achieving this kind of wealth is proof that you will never be satisfied, the reasonable people took their exit a while ago and are enjoying themselves peacefully. You most likely already took shortcuts and illegal actions to get there, so why not continue in that direction?
    • jordand41 minutes ago
      Trump has made a lot of money from NVIDIA stock, and he's very good friends with Jensen. Especially after he approved the Export Deals. Jensen will be fine after he's out of NVIDIA.
      • upupupandaway34 minutes ago
        [Citation Needed]
        • bar8uyr5 minutes ago
          and they kissed
      • rbanffy27 minutes ago
        > Jensen will be fine after he's out of NVIDIA.

        A billionaire being fired is not that much of a big deal. There’s nothing in the world that’ll make them worry about what will be their next business jet.

        As for him being good friends with Trump, it doesn’t say much. Epstein was one of his besties and he’s still dead.

        • guywithahat5 minutes ago
          Trump famously banned Epstein from his golf course and worked with the FBI during his first arrest. They famously hated each other, and were not friends
    • boringgan hour ago
      [flagged]
  • sergiotapia39 minutes ago
    Mission accomplished: nvidia nationalized.
  • russellbeattie7 minutes ago
    [delayed]
  • 0xyan hour ago
    They should poach Lisa Su to lead Nvidia, she's one of the most talented CEOs of all time and knows chips.
    • gkhartmanan hour ago
      I don't care who it is as long as they give us open kernel drivers that can match amds offering. Preferably also someone who's not hostile toward consumers would also be nice.
    • koolbaan hour ago
      She’s also Jensen’s cousin!
    • lvl25641 minutes ago
      Better yet, buy AMD.
      • georgemcbay36 minutes ago
        > Better yet, buy AMD.

        They wouldn't be able to for anti-trust concerns.

        Admittedly they might be able to get some people in the US to look the other way with sufficient beak-wetting but the EU would never allow it.

        • lvl25629 minutes ago
          With this administration? Anything is possible for the right price.
        • bar8uyr7 minutes ago
          tbf they wouldn't be able to run a proper cpu company either, they can barely do ARM and those are easy mode
      • pebble35 minutes ago
        Ah yes, more monopolies will solve everything!
        • lvl25628 minutes ago
          Just ask Apple, Google and Microsoft!
    • whywhywhywhy26 minutes ago
      Why when her GPU market is a fraction of Nvidia, brutally honest it would seem she isn’t qualified at all or AMD would be a real player.
      • 0xy23 minutes ago
        Considering what she did for AMD and completely revolutionized x86 I'd say she's one of very few people who are qualified.

        Who else is there who knows chips, knows GPUs and has an exceptional track record?

    • defen9 minutes ago
      Bringing in his cousin to run the company doesn't look great either.
    • shoobiedooan hour ago
      And now we know if she starts wearing leather jackets everywhere, dump stocks asap
  • 2 hours ago
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  • etchalon31 minutes ago
    And another Mackenzie Scott is born.
  • logicallee37 minutes ago
    This appears to be shortseller-initiated. We're going to make this illegal (in around the next 20 minutes) and if he is fired, we will launch a rigorous investigation and liquidate any company that contributed to this happening.

    NVidia is Jensen's company.

    EDIT: Done. https://stateofutopia.com/laws/3/law3.html

    • upupupandaway33 minutes ago
      Seriously, what are you talking about? Who is "we"?
    • blueone4 minutes ago
      Nvidia belongs to the shareholders…
      • logicallee2 minutes ago
        It is also subject to our laws. Regardless of what shareholders want, it is illegal to fire Jensen. If they don't like it, they can sell their stock and buy some other stock.
  • niobean hour ago
    [flagged]