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If I had told you this time last week that Jensen Huang would be leaving NVIDIA, you wouldn't have believed me.
He co-founded this hugely successful AI chip company, worked tirelessly to build it from the ground up, and overcame several catastrophic crises with endless energy and ruthless determination, only to fall apart due to his love life.
It's a story so bizarre and yet strangely old-fashioned that it's hard to believe it happened at a tech company with an eye on the future.
The incident spawned numerous viral memes online. Examples include Jensen Huang being depicted as a person caught on a 'kiss cam' at a Coldplay concert hall with a married colleague, or singing along to George Michael's famous song 'Careless Whisper', which deals with betrayal.
Ironically, both of these videos were created using the same AI technology he helped build.
I met with two Silicon Valley executives this week and asked them how they were taking the news, and the response they gave me was, "We're consuming memes."
However, they did not seem to think that Hwang would be kicked out of his position due to suspicions of adultery. The reason was that the stakes were too high. The entire AI industry is so deeply dependent on NVIDIA chips that this success formula cannot be broken. In short, ‘Silicon Valley’ was on his side.
However, this was before rumors of a second affair with a co-worker arose. Ultimately, the board decided he had crossed the line. His actions instantly made him appear as a completely different person. In other words, someone who can make bad decisions and cover them up.
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Long working hours and competitive spirit
Hwang always tried to stand out among the crowd. During the COVID-19 lockdown, he streamed a keynote speech from his kitchen, which itself went viral on the Internet, but was later revealed to be an AI-generated video.
It is rare to see him without a leather jacket. He joked that he only wears one suit and that he borrows his tie from his daughter's partner.
Huang boasted connections that included Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and King Charles, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the highest-ranking elite.
The last time I saw him was at St James's Palace last year, when he was receiving the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Engineering Award.
Although he was informed that there would be no interviews with the media at the time, he walked alone and talked to me for about 10 minutes while the press officers fidgeted behind him. He expressed coherent and optimistic views on the development of AI and the UK's role in it.
For many people, Hwang was Nvidia itself. There were as many as 200 direct subordinates who reported directly to him.
He demanded high standards from his employees. In The Nvidia Way, a book about Nvidia's internal operations, author Tae Kim writes that working hours there were very long.
Hwang's feedback was harsh and public, and he was not afraid to point out individual mistakes in all-staff meetings.
But now his flaws have been revealed to the world, and he too has been forced into a situation where he has no choice but to put a harsh end to his career.
NVIDIA without Jensen Huang
Colette Kress, who will take the helm for the time being, is likely to bring relief to some Nvidia employees as she is a familiar face within the company.
image copyrightNvidia
Kress worked at this company for 13 years. For those who have been keeping a close eye on the company's enormous financial situation, he is a self-made billionaire and rising tech industry executive who often appears on earnings conference calls.
But he is not an engineer. NVIDIA’s products require advanced technology.
He will also have to convince investors that Nvidia's business is business as usual, that the innovation that has underpinned the company's reputation will continue at its current pace, and that key talent will not follow Hwang out of the company.
If NVIDIA falters, it will be bad news for the entire AI industry. This is because NVIDIA’s constantly evolving chips run the most powerful AI models.
In Huang's case, it appears that the investigation into his relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy will continue. And it is highly likely that the results of the investigation will determine his future actions.
Despite this behavior, it is expected that he will continue to receive love calls. NVIDIA's competitors will have a hard time believing the good fortune of this formidable opponent being able to step away from the game. Elon Musk has already said it would be an "honor" to work with him at SpaceX.
However, even if it turns out that Hwang did not betray the company or the country, it must be remembered that he betrayed Lori Hwang, his wife of 41 years.
And for Laurie, this isn't a story about technology, seduction, or trillion-dollar corporate valuations. It's just a painfully personal issue.
