It is rare for revelations of an extramarital affair to send a company’s shares plunging and wipe trillions of dollars off its market value. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, now at the centre of a controversy, has not only been accused of having an extramarital affair with Huang Le, but US media have also reported that he is suspected of having an affair with a female direct report.
Even after several days of volatility, Nvidia’s market capitalisation still stands at US$4 trillion (about S$5.14 trillion), comparable to the economic output of Japan, the UK and India. The company’s importance is clear, making developments in the Jensen Huang controversy and their implications a particular focus of attention.
Bloomberg examines Nvidia’s strengths and vulnerabilities in five areas:
● Among the world’s most valuable companies
In mid-2024, Nvidia’s market capitalisation surpassed those of technology giants Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft for the first time. In 2025, Nvidia became the first company to cross the US$4 trillion and then the US$5 trillion mark. In early October this year, its market value approached US$6 trillion.
In late October, Apple overtook Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company as investors grew increasingly concerned about inflated valuations of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks and the borrowing boom in the sector.
Earlier this month, the Democrats won a sweeping victory in the midterm elections, taking control of Congress. With tighter oversight of AI and data centre construction expected, doubts immediately arose over whether the boom could be sustained.
On 10 November, revelations of Huang’s extramarital affair sent Nvidia’s valuation sharply lower, leaving it almost level with third-ranked Microsoft.
● Dominant player in the chip market
Nvidia currently holds an overwhelmingly dominant share of the high-end chip market. Long before the rise of AI, Nvidia had begun researching and developing applications for the GPU beyond gaming. It has maintained its lead by releasing new chip designs every year.
A leadership crisis at this point would have particularly serious consequences for Nvidia. Its rivals, including some of its customers and numerous start-ups, are working flat out to develop competitive AI chips.
Nvidia also faces intensifying competition in China. Yet US export controls prevent it from selling its most advanced products there. Nvidia has said Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies are making rapid progress in developing their own AI chips.
● A source of funding for the AI industry
Since 2024, Nvidia has been not just a supplier to the AI sector but also a major source of funding. It has invested heavily in several leading AI platform developers, including OpenAI, billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX and French AI company Mistral. It has also invested in companies building AI data centres.
This is a symbiotic relationship: Nvidia’s funding helps expand AI infrastructure, which in turn drives demand for its chips.
● A significant weighting in global investment portfolios
Before 2020, Nvidia accounted for less than 1% of the combined market capitalisation of companies in the S&P 500 index. Over the past two years, its share has held at around 8%, the largest of any constituent. Following the Huang controversy, that share fell below 7%.
Nvidia’s business performance can significantly affect the overall value of the S&P 500 index, to which vast sums of money are tied. According to S&P Global, as much as US$20 trillion in assets is currently benchmarked to the S&P 500 or invested through index funds.
● Key-person risk
Huang is at Nvidia’s helm, responsible for every major decision and personally involved in even the smallest operational details.
Huang is understood to have as many as 60 direct reports, an unusually large team for a senior technology executive. These core staff email him their “top five things”, which he invariably reads and responds to.
Nvidia’s success is widely regarded as inseparable from Huang. The controversy surrounding him has therefore highlighted the giant company’s exposure to “key-person risk”.
According to Nvidia employees, the board hopes to retain Huang for as long as possible, but an independent committee has begun investigating his conduct. If Huang ultimately has to leave, Nvidia would immediately find itself in an exceptionally vulnerable position. The company has yet to name a successor.
