Can Nvidia survive without Jensen Huang? 2 experts on what happens next after Huang’s affairs

Nvidia’s co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang is in a precarious position after being outed for a second alleged affair with a company executive.

News of the second affair broke on Nov 12, and comes days after Huang admitted to his first extramarital affair with Chinese national Alice Huang. US intelligence services reportedly believe she was a Chinese intelligence asset.

Singapore has been pulled into this scandal - Alice Huang was a top executive at a Singapore-based data centre company called Megaspeed International.

Was Alice Huang indeed a “honey trapper” as media reports claim, and will this scandal have blowback for Singapore?

In this episode of The Usual Place, Natasha speaks with Dr Shashi Jayakumar, the executive director of geopolitical consultancy firm SJK Geostrategic Advisory, and Alexander Neill, a security and Asia-Pacific policy analyst, as well as an adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum.

We discuss espionage tactics, if tech bros should be worried, and whether this is the end of Nvidia’s glory days?

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:44 Was it a Chinese intelligence operation?

5:52 Honey-trapping - a part of spycraft?

7:50 How did Jensen Huang fall for this ploy?

11:50 Will two affairs spell the end of Jensen Huang?

14:50 Can Nvidia survive without Jensen Huang?

18:43 Why tech leaders are vulnerable to influence

24:13 Is China the only one spying?

27:06 The “Singapore-washing” conundrum

31:36 Will Singapore face US blowback from the scandal?

34:41 Is tech too dependent on personalities?