The power landscape of the AI industry has just been hit by what can only be called an earthquake. Nvidia officially announced that Jensen Huang—the soul of the company for 33 years, a figure whose personal influence was almost inseparable from the brand—has formally stepped down as president, CEO, and director. The news immediately drew intense attention from the global tech world and triggered stock price swings.
From Geopolitical Rivalry to Huge Undercurrents: The “Megaspeed” Mystery Amid the Compute Crisis
To understand the full chain of events behind this shock, we must go back to the eve of the large-model boom in 2022. As computing power became a strategic resource in the AI era, the United States imposed strict bans on advanced chip exports to the Chinese market starting that autumn. Driven by enormous market demand, smuggling, routing through third countries, and cross-border remote access to computing power gradually emerged as workarounds.
Against this backdrop, a company called Megaspeed came into public view. Formerly an overseas subsidiary of the Chinese gaming company 7Road, it became independent in Singapore in 2023 and quickly transformed itself. In 2024, Megaspeed pledged to purchase about $2 billion worth of Nvidia chips within a year and rapidly grew into one of Nvidia’s largest customers in Southeast Asia. Its hardware purchases were made through Aivres, the U.S. subsidiary of Inspur, which has been placed on the U.S. Entity List.
However, the large number of unracked GPUs it stockpiled in data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Although Megaspeed and Nvidia repeatedly stressed that their operations fully complied with export control rules at the time, the involvement of U.S. intelligence agencies completely changed the nature of the matter.
Intelligence Surveillance and Political Maneuvering: Espionage Allegations and the White House’s Split Lines
According to a confidential memo disclosed by foreign media, U.S. intelligence agencies conducted electronic surveillance for a full year on a core Megaspeed figure—Huang Le, an ethnic Chinese executive described as “ghost-like”—and eventually concluded that he was suspected of gathering intelligence for China. Intelligence agencies suspected that one of his missions was to approach and influence Jensen Huang in order to push for looser restrictions on advanced chip exports to China.
This geopolitical storm also triggered a severe split over policy within the U.S. government. Inside the Trump administration, two camps were constantly battling: one emphasized national security and advocated strict restrictions on high-end GPU exports; the other emphasized maintaining the technology ecosystem and market share, fearing that a complete ban would only push Chinese companies to switch entirely to domestic alternatives. Jensen Huang had long advocated the latter approach and at one point gained support during diplomatic trips such as Trump’s visit to China, but this also made him a key target of hardline politicians such as Rubio.
At the same time, the U.S. Congress continued to tighten legislative restrictions on cross-border chip flows. From the Remote Access Security Act to the AI Overwatch Act, the regulatory net kept closing in.
The Final 14 Days That Crushed the Leader: Personal Misconduct Scandal and an All-Out Media Assault
If geopolitical maneuvering was the undercurrent, the personal misconduct crisis that erupted afterward became the direct trigger that crushed Jensen Huang. Starting on October 29, U.S. media began a dense series of reports, accusing Huang Le of close dealings with Jensen Huang and suspected intelligence activities.
Facing public pressure, Nvidia’s initial response failed to calm the storm. Later, media again disclosed long-term surveillance records by intelligence agencies of the relationship between the two men. Under the weight of ironclad evidence and public pressure, Jensen Huang sent a letter to all employees admitting to marital infidelity. The board then launched an independent investigation and expressed confidence in him, but on November 11, media reported another allegation of an extramarital affair involving a female senior executive inside the company.
Under multiple layers of public pressure and scrutiny over procedural fairness, Nvidia’s board moved quickly. Just 14 days after the news broke, the tech titan who had been at the helm for 33 years ultimately chose to step down. As the political storm and compliance reviews continued to intensify, this upheaval not only marked the end of a phase of an era for Nvidia, but also deeply reflected the harsh reality of global geopolitical and technological hegemony competition in the era of large models.
