Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang

Some of the most powerful figures in business and technology are publicly backing Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang after his admission of an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence officials suspect of working for China. Investors are hoping the company's co-founder can weather the scandal.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and billionaire investor Bill Ackman on Monday backed Huang, urging people to support the technology leader and his family and endorsing a defense of his importance to U.S. artificial intelligence leadership.

Ackman's message

Ackman made his case on social media. "An alert: @JensenHuang is human. And he is an incredible human," the Pershing Square Capital Management CEO wrote, urging people to support Huang and his family.

Ackman said Huang should take full responsibility, which he has done.

Musk and Sequoia weigh in

Musk signaled his support by sharing another investor's view. He reposted and agreed with comments from Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire.

Maguire described Huang as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of this generation, while acknowledging that he had made a serious mistake. He wrote that "Jensen is irreplaceable for America's AI leadership."

Why stakeholders want him to stay

Nvidia is closely identified with its founder. The company, worth more than $4 trillion, is a largely founder-driven business, and Huang has led it for more than 30 years since co-founding it, according to the New York Post. He has become synonymous with the AI boom itself.

The Post reported that Huang has 60 direct reports, no clear successor and a close relationship with President Donald Trump, all factors that have stakeholders hoping he will remain at the company.

The scandal

Huang disclosed the affair in a message to staff. "I was unfaithful to my wife," he wrote in a memo the company posted publicly.

Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, following reports that a Chinese intelligence agency recruited a businesswoman who had a personal relationship with him. Huang insisted that the relationship did not involve the sharing of sensitive company information.

The board is not seeking Huang's removal as CEO.

Market reaction

Investors reacted on Monday. Nvidia shares fell more than 5% in late-morning trading, even as the broader Nasdaq rose.

Traders on prediction market Kalshi put the chance of Huang leaving the CEO role before July 1, 2027, at 33%.

Critics see risks

Not everyone expects a clean resolution. A former official who served in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations told the Post that Nvidia executives are likely hoping to draw out the investigation in hopes that the public moves on, and predicted the probe would confirm the affair but not establish any specific intelligence role for the woman.

What's next

Lawmakers have invited Huang to a closed-door briefing, and Nvidia reports quarterly earnings on Nov. 17. The board's findings will likely determine whether the support from high-profile backers is enough to keep Huang in his post.

None of the espionage allegations have been proven, and China has denied them.