Trump, Musk defend Nvidia's Huang amid spy-themed affair
Huang is an honorable guy, Trump says.
US President Donald Trump (L) listens as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speak. Andrew Harnik/Getty.
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- Nvidia’s board is investigating CEO Jensen Huang over alleged ties to a possible Chinese intelligence agent.
- Trump called Huang honorable and praised his work, saying he had not discussed the allegations with him.
- Elon Musk backed a Sequoia partner who argued Huang remains vital to America’s artificial intelligence leadership.
- Online safety expert Paul Walsh warned that calling leaders irreplaceable can excuse risky decisions.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
As the board of the world's largest chipmaker, Nvidia, investigates CEO Jensen Huang's alleged intelligence ties, prominent figures such as US President Donald Trump and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have come to his defense.
Speaking to journalists, Trump said he didn't speak to Huang "about it," but noted that the CEO is "a fine person" who's "done such an incredible job" and is also "an honorable guy."
Nvidia launched an internal investigation into its CEO and his potential ties to a foreign intelligence agent after he admitted he had been unfaithful to his wife, while media reports claimed Huang had a close relationship with a potential Chinese spy.
"I think he probably has an excuse for it," Trump said.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk shared a post on X by Shaun Maguire, a partner at venture capital powerhouse Sequoia Capital, saying that he agrees with Maguire's take on the ongoing scandal.
According to the venture capitalist, "Jensen is irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership." However, Maguire admitted that the CEO "did something incredibly dumb" and that "it was bad for America."
"But my guess is there was no bad intention," the author of the post said, urging people to "not nuke our AI industry because China ran a successful [intelligence operation]."
As reported by Cybernews, Trump seeks to outpace China in the AI race by pushing to expand the US data center industry, prompting protests across the country. While protesters demand transparency, resource safeguards, community benefits, and developer accountability regarding data center expansion, some have noted that these protests are also beneficial to China.
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"If you’re participating in the anti datacenter moral panic you are either: a literal Chinese bot; a useful idiot for China," another venture capitalist, Nic Carter, said in August.
In either case, not everyone agrees that Huang is "irreplaceable."
"What should concern everyone is how easily Jensen, NVIDIA or anyone in his position could be compromised or manipulated by a foreign intelligence service. Calling anyone irreplaceable gives powerful founders an excuse for every poor or dangerous decision they make," Paul Walsh, an expert in online safety and privacy, concluded.
