Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's stunning resignation has sent ripples through the global technology industry, with rival chipmakers itching to take advantage of the uncertainty and others wondering if the downfall of one of AI's biggest cheerleaders will dampen the mood around the civilization-altering technology.
Huang, who stepped down Thursday following reports of extramarital affairs, including with a suspected Chinese spy, was the very public face of a company that dominates the market for computer chips used to train and run AI models. In March, Huang predicted Nvidia will be grappling with a $1 trillion backlog in orders for its chips by the end of the year, doubling his estimate from a year earlier.
A linchpin of the AI boom, Nvidia trades off with Apple as Wall Street's most valuable company and has invested heavily in other AI firms.
Some of Nvidia's biggest rivals, such as Broadcom, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, saw their shares advance Thursday following Huang's departure as investors predicted that its customers will look to diversify their suppliers. In the end, analysts say, this might not be a bad thing.
“This could turn what has effectively been a monopoly into a horse race again, as competitors rush to meet growing demand,” said Bret Greenstein, chief AI officer at the global consultancy West Monroe. “Nvidia did not create that demand, and a shift in this part of the market could ultimately diversify the supply chain, create more choice for customers and strengthen the broader AI industry in the years ahead.”
Nvidia carved out an early lead in tailoring its chipsets known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, from use in powering video games to helping to train powerful AI systems. Demand soared as tech companies scrambled for more chips to build and run AI systems.
In annual filings, Nvidia has identified competitors including Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, Intel, Broadcom and cloud services companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft. While these other players are established and respected within the industry for their chips, they have been trying to catch up to Nvidia.
Nvidia has had an advantage from the start and as soon as a competitor releases something just as good, Nvidia has put out the next better chip, said Jay Aldebert, chief growth officer of International Services Inc. “Nobody’s just sitting still,” he said.
While some competitors saw bumps to their share prices Thursday, “their gains are going to be smaller than Nvidia’s losses,” said Chester Spatt, a finance professor at Carnegie Mellon University. But Spatt said he also anticipates chip purchasers could also become “much more reluctant to concentrate their purchases with a single source.”
The incident is also sure to prompt elected officials to seek stronger export controls on American-made chips, but that could be a boon for Chinese chipmaker Huawei, another Nvidia competitor. Lizzi C. Lee, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, said she suspects Chinese AI firms could accelerate efforts to secure overseas computing capacity ahead of tighter controls.
“Chinese chipmakers have already rallied on Nvidia’s troubles, but China’s AI developers depend heavily on Nvidia’s ecosystem,” she said. “This could be both an opportunity and a headache for China.”
While Huang is not the only face of AI — OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google's Demis Hassabis and Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton are among the others — he's been an influential one. A celebrity-level industry evangelist with President Donald Trump's ear and support, he has advocated for a light touch on AI regulation and has been bullish about AI’s potential to transform society, creating faster economic growth and more scientific breakthroughs.
“Jensen Huang’s resignation is a watershed moment for Nvidia, which now has to prove it can maintain its AI dominance without the leader largely responsible for building it,” said Asa Hiken, a senior analyst for research firm eMarketer. “And given the broader AI industry’s heavy dependence on Nvidia’s chips, Huang’s departure introduces uncertainty well beyond the company itself.”
Lee, of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the resignation fallout will ripple across the AI ecosystem.
“Obviously Nvidia’s technological leadership won’t disappear, but Huang had played an outsized role as its chief strategist, dealmaker and — very importantly — political advocate, with close access to both Washington and Beijing,” she said. “This happens at a critical juncture when markets are already questioning the sustainability of massive AI spending.”
Huang’s relationships across the tech landscape translated into Nvidia’s numerous partnerships and investments into companies that purchase its chips. Colette Kress, Nvidia’s CFO turned interim CEO, has been a key force behind that strategy, but that approach is under closer scrutiny as the scandal and resignation have rattled the market.
CoreWeave, which buys Nvidia chips and then rents out access to them to customers over the cloud, closed down almost 7% on Thursday. Nvidia holds a nearly 13% stake in the company.
Leadership within companies across the tech sector likely spent much of Thursday in meetings aiming to figure out a “backup plan” for some of their financing, Aldebert said. He described the circular financing practice as “incestuous.”
Many experts will be keeping a keen eye on what Huang’s departure and its fallout mean for pending public debuts of AI companies like Anthropic’s pending IPO, valued at $1.3 trillion.
It also comes in the wake of midterm elections marked by hostility toward data centers, ushering in many Democrats promising aggressive stances on AI regulation.
“This is all very interconnected and I think that we’re going to see a lot interesting dynamics happening the next month as it plays out,” said Greenstein, of West Monroe.
AP Business Writer Mae Anderson contributed to this story from New York.
Flowers are placed outside Nvidia HQ in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
FILE- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks to the media as he attends a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and U.S. business representatives, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 14, 2026. (Go Nakamura/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers face Joe Burrow and the Bengals with first place in the AFC North at stake.
The Sunday night matchup is the only primetime game in Week 9 featuring two winning teams.
Rodgers outplayed Burrow in Pittsburgh’s 30-27 victory in Week 3. The Steelers (6-2) have won four straight and are coming off a bye. The Bengals (6-2) also have won four in a row and are back after a trip to Spain, where they beat Atlanta.
That’s an advantage for Pittsburgh.
Burrow is 4-4 in his career against the Steelers.
The Bengals are 3½-point favorites. Pro Picks sees a close game after kicking off the week with a loss when the Commanders beat the Giants 24-21 on Thursday night.
BENGALS: 24-23
Line: Lions minus 2½
Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez struggled in a lopsided loss at home to Green Bay. The Patriots need their QB and star cornerback to play well to have a chance against Detroit. Jared Goff’s streak of 30 consecutive regular-season games with at least one TD pass ended last week in a win at Miami. The Lions have won five straight games after a 1-2 start.
LIONS: 26-22
Line: Bills minus 8½
Buffalo has won five straight in this series and 10 of 12 since 2020. Josh Allen has 21 TDs combined passing and rushing this season. The Bills have played much better defense the past two weeks. Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey has 7½ sacks and five forced fumbles in eight games.
BILLS: 24-17
Line: Saints minus 2½
Two losing teams battling for first place is common in the weak NFC South. The Panthers are reeling following three straight losses. But QB Bryce Young has played some of his best football this season. He’ll face plenty of pressure from the Saints. Chase Young and Carl Granderson have combined for 15½ sacks. New Orleans swept the series last year after Tyler Shough took over as starting QB.
UPSET SPECIAL: PANTHERS: 23-20
Line: Texans minus 4½
C.J. Stroud has 16 TD passes with only two interceptions and the Texans have won three of four after an 0-4 start. A defense that sacked Justin Herbert eight times could have a big day against an offensive line that’s allowed 38 sacks. Shedeur Sanders played well last week filling in, but Deshaun Watson will start. The Browns are 3-0 at home and begin a stretch of four straight in front of the Dawg Pound.
TEXANS: 20-17
Line: Jaguars minus 10½
The Jaguars were aggressive at the trade deadline, bolstering a defense that’s allowed just 15.1 points per game. Trevor Lawrence leads an offense that’s fourth in scoring (28.6 points). The Titans are coming off a bye following an impressive performance by Cam Ward in an overtime loss to the Bengals. But they traded another top defensive player, sending safety Amani Hooker to Buffalo. The Jaguars swept the season series in each of the last two years.
JAGUARS: 30-16
Line: Chiefs minus 3½
Patrick Mahomes has a new receiver after the Chiefs acquired Josh Downs. Kenneth Walker III has five 100-yard rushing games already for Kansas City. The Falcons have All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson, who leads the NFL with 880 yards rushing in one more game played than Walker. Atlanta has lost four of five, traded Bates and is coming off a game in Spain.
BEST BET: CHIEFS: 26-17
Line: Colts minus 3½
Kyle McCord will make his first career start for the Dolphins, who placed Malik Willis on injured reserve this week. The Colts traded Downs and Keenan Allen but Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor remain in Indianapolis. They’ll need some receivers to step up. Shane Steichen is coaching for his job after losing 14 of 16 going back to last season.
COLTS: 22-16
Line: Packers minus 3½
Kirk Cousins is back with the Vikings. He played for Kevin O’Connell in 2022-23 so he knows the offense. Minnesota has a championship-caliber defense and hopes Cousins can fix its offensive woes. Jordan Love was nearly flawless last week at New England and leads the NFL in passing. Green Bay’s Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are Nos. 3 and 4 in yards receiving. The Packers are last in the competitive NFC North despite a .667 winning percentage. The Vikings won the first matchup in Week 1.
PACKERS: 23-22
Line: Rams minus 9½
Matthew Stafford won’t have Puka Nacua for at least a month and Davante Adams is already out, so the Rams will need to rely more on Kyren Williams and the run game along with a stout defense. Myles Garrett had three sacks in his first game back and he’ll be going against a QB making his NFL debut. Rookie Carson Beck replaces Gardner Minshew, who was placed on injured reserve. Beck won’t have top receiver Michael Wilson, who also went on IR. The Cardinals beat the Rams 18-16 in Los Angeles last month but coach Sean McVay is 16-4 vs. Arizona.
RAMS: 26-13
Line: Seahawks minus 6½
Drew Lock fills in again for Sam Darnold while No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza makes his first career start going against the defending Super Bowl champions. It’ll be a difficult matchup for the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Mendoza, who led Indiana to a national championship, faces the league’s top-ranked defense.
SEAHAWKS: 23-13
Line: 49ers minus 4½
The 49ers added another veteran receiver in Allen to join their injury-riddled group that could start seeing guys return. That’ll be a big boost for an offense led by Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery and George Kittle. The up-and-down Cowboys haven’t been consistent enough on offense or defense. They can score plenty of points and give them up, too.
49ERS: 30-27
Line: Ravens minus 4½
The winless Chargers have to win a game eventually. Justin Herbert is having a miserable season but he’s too talented to go 0-17. The Ravens have lost four straight and are turning to Jacoby Brissett after losing Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley to injuries and giving Joe Fagnano his first career start.
RAVENS: 23-20.
Last week: Straight up: 14-1. Against spread: 10-5.
Overall: Straight up: 90-46-1. Against spread: 77-57-3.
Best Bet: Straight up: 6-3. Against spread: 5-4.
Upset Special: Straight up: 4-5. Against spread: 4-5.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) passes against the Cleveland Browns during the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) celebrates scoring a touchdown during an NFL football game against Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
