The scenario of Huang's departure puts pressure on Nvidia and threatens artificial intelligence investments

Investors fear that the possible departure of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will lead to a decline in the company's willingness to finance the artificial intelligence boom, in a development that adds new pressures to one of the most crowded bets in global markets.

The board of directors of the company, which is the largest manufacturer of artificial intelligence chips in the world, held a meeting on Wednesday evening to decide on Huang's future, in light of reports of his involvement in two extramarital affairs.

Market traders reacted quickly, as shares of Nvidia and companies that benefit from its products, including data center companies CoreWave and Naver, were subject to selling pressure, while shares of its competitors in the chip industry, Broadcom and AMD, rose, according to Reuters.

In China, shares of the most prominent local manufacturers of graphics processing units jumped on Thursday, with the growing turmoil surrounding NVIDIA, which reinforced expectations that local chip suppliers could acquire a larger share of the market. Shares of More Threads, MetaX, and Cambricon rose by about 10 percent each.

However, fears in the markets extend beyond the company's future, as investors fear that assuming new leadership will lead to Nvidia retreating from its strategy based on financing data centers, which may cause the artificial intelligence boom itself to lose momentum.

June B. Liu, senior portfolio manager at TenCap Fund Management in Sydney, said Huang represents the face of NVIDIA, which stands at the forefront of global expansion in the field of artificial intelligence.

She added that a great state of uncertainty surrounds the future of the company, as well as the companies operating in the artificial intelligence sector with which NVIDIA participates in investments and provides support, noting that the fears are that the current momentum of the sector may stop.

These concerns, along with a decline in Nvidia stock by 8 percent in post-close trading, led to a decline in Nasdaq 100 futures by about 1 percent during Asian trading.

“Nvidia” is considered the most prominent share in the artificial intelligence revolution, thanks to the superiority of its technologies in manufacturing chips over competitors, and its huge sales that pushed its stock to rise by about 900 percent during the past four years, since the company “OpenAI” launched the “Chat GBT” application, which inaugurated the era of artificial intelligence.

But NVIDIA's role was not limited to being a supplier of chips, but it also became one of the most prominent financiers of the sector, as it anticipates the growing demand for the most advanced chips, and pumps billions of dollars into financing its customers through equity investments and other financing commitments.

The company's board of directors had opened an investigation into Huang following reports of an extramarital affair with a businesswoman who was alleged to be a Chinese spy. Subsequent reports of another relationship emerged before Wednesday's council meeting.

Shai Bullor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, said he doesn't expect the company's revenue to disappear in the next 12 to 18 months if Huang leaves, but he expressed greater concern about the next decade, given that Huang not only serves as CEO, but also has a continuing ability to anticipate computing development trends before customers themselves realize their future needs.

He added that replacing this strategic vision represents a huge challenge.

Nvidia's decline puts pressure on some of its related companies

Huang's departure or reduced role would leave a void at the top of the company, which has a market value of about $4 trillion, which he co-founded and led for more than three decades to become the world's largest chip supplier and a key focus in the technology rivalry between the United States and China.

Hwang has never announced a potential successor, but analysts believe that there are two internal candidates for the position, engineer Ian Buck and CFO Colette Cress, but neither of them has the media presence and widespread fame that Hwang enjoys, which has strengthened his standing alongside world leaders.

In Asia, shares of chip manufacturers, which achieved significant gains in parallel with the rise of NVIDIA and the boom in spending on artificial intelligence, declined, but they recently faced pressure due to concerns related to financing costs and demand prospects.

In its latest earnings report, Nvidia included financial obligations amounting to about $164.5 billion, including a commitment amounting to $105 billion related to an Open AI data center in the US state of Ohio, in addition to guarantees related to lease contracts and operational capabilities exceeding $50 billion.

Shares of CoreWave, the data center operator supported by Nvidia, fell by more than 6 percent in post-close trading, after recording a rise during Wednesday’s session following the announcement of positive business results. Shares of the South Korean internet company Naver, in which Nvidia invested $1 billion to finance the expansion of a data center, also fell by about 6 percent.

However, investors believe that the quality of Nvidia's products will likely not be affected, and that the change in the company's leadership will not quickly lead to a decline in demand for its products.

Anna Wu, founder of Floodlines Research, said that NVIDIA's core assets are advanced graphics processing units for which there is no real alternative in the market yet, adding that the bet on artificial intelligence is based on the demand for these products, and not on a specific person.

But with the company announcing its results next week, investors are expected to focus on leadership and strategy, and whether sales expectations set under Huang will stand if a potential successor takes over the company.

Official data issued Thursday showed that the British economy recorded its fastest growth pace in two and a half years in the third quarter of 2026, supported by the recovery of the artificial intelligence sector, continuing the strong performance it achieved during the first half of the year.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 percent during the period from July to September, in line with the average forecast of economists in a Reuters poll, but exceeding the 0.5 percent growth recorded in the second quarter. This is the strongest quarterly pace of growth since the first quarter of 2024, according to the British Office for National Statistics.

On a moving three-month basis, growth was at its fastest pace since May.

The annual growth rate also rose to 1.9 percent during the third quarter, recording its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2024, and also in line with the average Reuters poll forecast of 1.9 percent.

The services sector, which constitutes the largest part of the British economy, recorded a growth of 0.9 percent during the third quarter, and achieved stronger than expected growth of 0.2 percent during September alone.

ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said the economy recorded strong growth during the third quarter, driven almost entirely by strong and broad-based growth in the services sector.

He added that computer programming activities once again recorded strong growth, as was the case throughout the year, achieving its fastest growth pace during the past three years. He pointed to the continued emergence of indicators of the contribution of companies related to artificial intelligence in enhancing the performance of this sector.

In September alone, economic output rose by 0.2 percent, accelerating from zero growth between July and August, after previous data were revised downward.

The British economy showed resilience beyond expectations during the first half of 2026, after recording growth of 0.6 percent in the first quarter.

While some economists expect growth to slow during the last quarter of the year, with the impact of rising energy prices and borrowing costs on economic activity, the Bank of England last week raised its expectations for economic growth during 2026, coinciding with an increase in interest rates.

The central bank currently expects GDP to grow by 1.6 percent this year, which is much higher than the expectations of the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility, which estimated growth at 1.2 percent, following the budget announced by Finance Minister John Healey on October 28. The bureau's estimates did not take into account some recent strong growth data, along with upward revisions to previous numbers.

The central bank attributed part of the strong economic performance to spending on artificial intelligence, as well as a limited and temporary boost provided by the financial plan announced by Haley.

However, there are signs of declining consumer and business demand, with energy prices continuing to rise for a prolonged period and interest rates increasing.

Official data showed a decline in retail sales volumes in September, while consumer confidence recorded its largest monthly decline since April 2020, before the budget announcement.