Tech allies rally behind Jensen Huang, calling him vital in AI race
Emmy Martin
AI generated
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allies → rally → race
Within hours of Jensen Huang’s admission on Nov 8 that he had been unfaithful to his wife, some of Silicon Valley’s most influential investors closed ranks around him.
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some → close → him
Their messages, delivered mostly on social media, were consistent.
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messages → deliver → media
Huang’s relationship with a woman identified by US officials as a Chinese spy was a personal failing.
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relationship → identify → spy
Losing the Nvidia chief executive, they argued, would be a far bigger blow to the country, and America could not win the artificial intelligence race without him.
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America → lose → him
“Jensen is one of the greatest entrepreneurs of this generation,” Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, wrote in a post on the afternoon of Nov 8.
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Maguire → write → Nov
He said that Huang “did something incredibly dumb” and that it was bad for America, “but my guess is there was no bad intention”.
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guess → say → America
He concluded that Huang is “irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership”.
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Huang → conclude → leadership
About an hour later, Elon Musk quoted the post and added: “I agree.”
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I → quote → post
The show of loyalty reflects Huang’s rarefied standing in Silicon Valley.
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show → reflect → Valley
In the three decades since he co-founded Nvidia, he has gone from running a maker of video game graphics cards to presiding over the company at the centre of the AI boom, now one of the world’s most valuable companies.
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he → co → companies
Nvidia’s chips are the scarce resource every AI company needs, a position that makes Huang something of a kingmaker.
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Huang → need → kingmaker
Decisions about who gets his products, and how many, can shape which start-ups and tech giants pull ahead.
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ups → get → products
Nvidia’s finances are also deeply intertwined with other leading AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic.
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finances → intertwine → OpenAI
(China has rejected the espionage claims.
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China → reject → claims
Alice Huang, the Chinese executive accused of spying for Beijing, has not responded to requests for comment.)
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Huang → accuse → comment
Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, called Jensen Huang “an incredible human” who took “full responsibility as he should” and urged people to “support him and his family”.
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he → call → him
Later on Nov 8, Ackman added that he was “not suggesting he gets a free pass”.
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he → add → pass
On Nov 9, investor Gavin Baker argued that many venture capitalists were “patriotic Americans” who believed Huang’s policy views served the country against China.
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views → argue → China
He wrote that it would be “a disaster for America – and a gift to China – if Jensen goes down”.
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Jensen → write → China
“100% in agreement,” replied Jason Calacanis, a host of the “All-In” podcast, which is a popular podcast hosted by a group of venture capitalists including David Sacks, President Donald Trump’s former AI and crypto czar.
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which → reply → Sacks
Antonio Gracias, founder of Valor Equity Partners and a long-time associate of Musk, agreed on Nov 10: “America would not be ahead in the AI race without Jensen.
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America → agree → Jensen
He clearly made a mistake.
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He → make → mistake
One mistake does not erase a lifetime of leadership.”
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mistake → erase → leadership
During an appearance onstage with the podcast’s hosts in September, Huang took a phone call from Trump.
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Huang → take → Trump
Trump, too, has stood by Huang.
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Trump → stand → Huang
“I really believe him,” he said on Nov 9, recalling a conversation when Huang told him he did not know that Alice Huang was a spy.
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Huang → believe → him
The New York Times has reported that Trump was briefed a year ago about intelligence showing that she was an operative for the Chinese government.
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she → report → government
Trump on Nov 10 demurred when asked whether he received the briefing in 2025.
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he → demur → 2025
Huang has been among Washington’s most forceful voices against cutting China off from American chips, and has been an ally of Trump since his return to office.
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Huang → cut → office
That, Calacanis acknowledged, makes him and his company “a critical target, and we need to protect them both”.
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we → acknowledge → them
In Congress, the Republican leaders of three influential House committees have asked Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing on his interactions with Alice Huang.
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leaders → ask → Huang
The Times reported in October that US officials had concluded that Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore company that bought billions of dollars of Nvidia chips, had been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security.
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that → report → Security
Nvidia’s board has opened an investigation and said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
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security → open → reason
Beijing dismissed the allegations as smears.
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Beijing → dismiss → smears
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