German media: "Extramarital affair" is not Huang Jen-Hsun's biggest mistake

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) If NVIDIA's board of directors determines that Jen-Hsun Huang has made major mistakes, and if the U.S. political circles put pressure on Jen-Hsun Huang to resign, how will the company respond? "Business Daily" commented that what should attract more attention than the personal ethics of the chairman is that the company that determines the development direction of global artificial intelligence is tightly bound to the same person. This comment titled "Nvidia CEO's Biggest Mistake Wasn't Extramarital Affairs" reads:

"The truth exposed by this extramarital affair is that this company that determines the rise and fall of the artificial intelligence industry is so vulnerable: because Huang Renxun did not train his successor in time, and public information does not show any succession system in the company. Everything at Nvidia is closely related to this charismatic leader.

Because he is still full of energy and vitality, Huang has never left any room for discussion of succession issues. In mid-October, Nvidia held its first GTC conference in the German capital. Huang Renxun's passionate speech drove tens of millions of fans in Berlin crazy. For decades, the son of Taiwanese immigrants has always appeared on stage in a black outfit of a leather jacket, jeans and a T-shirt. If it weren't for his silver hair, the billionaire would look like a rock star.

However, the casual vibe this outfit conveys is actually just an illusion. In fact, the heavy responsibilities shouldered by Huang Renxun are unmatched by other CEOs. His chips are the backbone of today's artificial intelligence revolution, and Nvidia's chip technology is so far ahead that the U.S. government issued a ban on exporting the most advanced chips to China a few years ago. Huang Renxun has a very good personal relationship with US President Trump, and the president himself has been publicly expressing his support for Nvidia. It is precisely because of this that Huang Renxun's extramarital affair has become a political issue in Washington. "

"Business Daily" commented that for many years, Nvidia has been able to remain invincible in the fierce competition in the chip industry. But now, it is Huang Renxun himself who has brought the glorious career he has built throughout his life into a dangerous situation:

"A problem that has long been ignored by investors, customers and politicians has now surfaced: a company with huge global influence is so closely linked to the same person. The top priority for NVIDIA's board of directors now is to correct what may be the most serious mistake made by Huang Jen-Hsun: Huang's irreplaceability."

The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" commentary also believes that it is Huang Renxun's "one-man dominance" position at Nvidia that has caused "extramarital affairs" and "spygate" to cause huge losses to the company and its investors before they were discovered:

"In the high-tech field, NVIDIA is by no means an isolated phenomenon. Can you imagine Meta without Zuckerberg? It's unimaginable. Can you imagine SpaceX and Tesla without Musk? With Musk's arrangement that he can always single out all shareholders, this is unimaginable. Shareholders also accepted this arrangement without objection. In this sense, Huang Jen-Hsun's 'one-man rule' at NVIDIA is also a model of the Silicon Valley model: arrogance, respect for individuals, and contempt for democracy.

The problem isn't just Nvidia's heavy reliance on its president. As Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said, the entire high-tech industry relies heavily on Nvidia and its chips. Ellison said that once over dinner, he and Musk begged Huang to take their money. Google, Microsoft, Open AI and Anthropic have all paid tens of billions to purchase Nvidia chips. The futures of all these companies depend on whether Nvidia chips and its promise of artificial intelligence can deliver. Although there are other chip companies on the market, it is rare in the economic field to generate such a large systemic risk.

It stands to reason that the big guys in the technology industry and Nvidia's board of supervisors should be familiar with the first rule of investment: never bet all your money on one card. But Nvidia's rocket-like rise may have made everyone forget about it. The time has come to pay the price. "