Inside the Downfall of the Most Powerful Man in A.I. | Hard Fork

Nvidia CEO Jensen Wong resigns after reporting that an emergency board meeting followed revelations of multiple extramarital affairs, including one with a direct report and another tied to a company under scrutiny over China links. The host frames the collapse as the biggest tech story of the year, because Nvidia sits at the center of the A.I. boom and Wong has been one of its loudest champions.

The guests argue that the board was boxed in by a mix of governance, legal, and market pressure. One guest says directors, many of whom are Nvidia billionaires, were trying to protect shareholders as the stock slid, while another says Washington has grown less willing to shield Wong as scrutiny intensifies around chip sales to China and Megaspeed, the Singapore-based company at the center of the reporting.

The conversation also turns to succession and market impact. The guests say interim CEO Colette Crest is capable but may only be a temporary stopgap because Nvidia’s top job has long been defined by technical and commercial brilliance in one person. They warn that Wong’s exit could ripple through A.I. financing, chip demand, and policy debates, even as competitors like Broadcom and AMD may benefit.