![[Commentary] AI pioneer is doomed by wrong decision... NVIDIA CEO Huang resigns](/api/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Face%2Fws%2F240%2Fcpsprodpb%2F3345%2Flive%2F4030f5a0-deea-11f1-9dd5-b5dd10100b88.jpg)
Image copyrightReuters
Zoe Kleinman Technology and AI Editor-in-Chief
If I had told you this time last week that Jensen Huang, CEO of U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia, was expected to resign, I doubt you would have believed me.
One of the co-founders of this hugely successful AI chip (semiconductor) company, who worked tirelessly to build the company from the ground up, guided it through several crisis situations, and guided it with inexhaustible energy and relentless determination, was ultimately destroyed by his own love scandal.
It's a surprising story, but also strangely old-fashioned for a tech company looking to the future.
The uproar sparked a flurry of memes featuring Huang on the internet. In one version, Huang was replaced by a corporate executive who was shown on a large screen hugging a co-worker with whom he had an affair during a concert by British rock band Coldplay last July, and in another one in which Huang crooned George Michael's classic song ``Careless Whisper,'' which deals with the theme of betrayal.
Ironically, both memes were generated by AI, using the very technology Huang was involved in developing.
This week, I met with two Silicon Valley executives and asked them how they were processing this news. The answer came back: "Memes."
On the other hand, it seems that Mr. Huang did not think that he would be forced out of Nvidia due to the affair allegations.
They said it was too risky. The entire AI industry is overly reliant on Nvidia's chips, and its formula for success will be difficult to reverse.
In other words, Silicon Valley was on Huang's side.
However, after that, rumors surfaced that she had an affair with an Nvidia executive. The board decided that Mr. Huang had gone too far.
Mr. Huang's actions painted him as a completely different person. He was a person who made bad decisions and was able to cover them up.
long working hours and competitive spirit
Mr. Huang always strived to be different.
During the lockdown period due to the coronavirus pandemic, Huang streamed his keynote speech from his kitchen. It itself became famous on the internet, but it was later revealed that it was generated by an AI.
Mr. Huang almost always wears a leather jacket. He once joked that he only owned one suit and borrowed his tie from his daughter's partner.
He has connections to the elite, including US President Donald Trump, businessman Elon Musk and Britain's King Charles III.
I last met Mr. Huang last year at St. James's Palace in London, when he received the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.
It was rumored that Huang did not speak to the press, but he walked over and chatted for about 10 minutes as his public relations staff anxiously watched in the background. Huang was clear-cut and optimistic about advances in AI and the UK's role.
To many, Huang was Nvidia. He had 200 direct reports and received direct reports.
Mr. Huang wanted high standards. Tae Kim, author of ``The Nvidia Way,'' which reveals the internal workings of Nvidia, notes that working hours are long at the company.
Mr. Huang's feedback was sometimes brutal and public. He had no qualms about pointing out individual mistakes at all-employee meetings.
Now, Huang's own shortcomings have been exposed publicly. He was forced to end his career in a tragic manner.
Nvidia without Mr. Huang
Following Huang's resignation, Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress became interim CEO. He is a well-known face in the industry. For some employees, that in itself will be a source of comfort.
Mr. Kress has been with Nvidia for 13 years and is a frequent sight at earnings calls for those who keep a close eye on the company's massive finances. Mr. Kress himself is a millionaire and runs a leading technology company.
But Mr. Cress is not an engineer. And NVIDIA's products are highly technical.
Mr. Kress will now have to convince investors that Nvidia's business will continue as usual, that the company's innovation will continue at its current pace, and that it won't lose top talent along with Mr. Huang.
If Nvidia's management becomes unstable, it will be bad news for the entire AI industry. The company's constantly evolving chips power the most powerful AI models. The company also acts like a central bank, lending money to other companies.
As for Mr. Huang himself, investigations into his ties to suspected Chinese spies are expected to continue. The results are likely to influence his future moves.
But even after his affair becomes public, Mr. Huang will likely remain in high demand. Nvidia's competitors must be incredibly lucky that their nemesis has voluntarily removed themselves from the industry. Musk, who owns SpaceX, has already said it would be an "honour" to work with Huang at the company.
But we must remember that even if Mr. Huang did not betray Nvidia or the United States, he still betrayed his wife of 41 years, Lori Huang.
For Lori, it's not about technology, seduction and trillion-dollar company valuations.
It's a painfully personal issue.
(English article How AI visionary Jensen Huang was undone by his own bad decisions)
