Nvidia CEO resigns after scandal exposes corporate recklessness; commerce secretary blasted over weak export enforcement
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Jensen Huang stepped down as Nvidia's chief executive after admitting an affair with a woman U.S. officials say is linked to Chinese intelligence, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing sharp criticism for failing to enforce export restrictions on Nvidia chips.
Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday after confirming an extramarital relationship with a woman identified by U.S. officials as an alleged Chinese intelligence operative. The episode has intensified scrutiny of a corporate culture that appears willing to gamble with national-security risks, especially since the woman's firm, Megaspeed, is accused of diverting Nvidia's artificial-intelligence chips, which are restricted from sale to Chinese companies for national-security reasons.
U.S. officials have stressed that the Department of Commerce, led by Secretary Howard Lutnick, failed to enforce existing export controls that could have stopped the alleged smuggling of about $7 billion worth of Nvidia chips into China. Critics say this lax enforcement helped fuel the wider scandal and exposed a dangerous pattern of regulatory failure that could weaken the United States' position in the AI technology race.
The Chinese government has denied the espionage allegations. Both incidents have triggered demands for a serious overhaul of export-control policy and for accountability inside the department.