The resignation and the transition
Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993, resigned on Thursday after the disclosure of extramarital affairs, including one with a woman who, according to U.S. officials, is suspected of being a Chinese spy. The company appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive and assured that it will maintain its commitments to customers and product plans, according to The Korea Herald.
The South Korean newspaper stresses that the affair concerns the leadership of one of the most influential companies in the artificial intelligence supply chain and that its consequences go beyond internal governance, affecting relations with Asian component suppliers.
The new balance in HBM supply
According to industry sources and analysts cited by the newspaper, Huang's departure could give greater bargaining power to South Korean manufacturers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in future supply negotiations. SK hynix, Samsung Electronics and U.S.-based Micron are identified as the three main producers of this memory, which is essential for Nvidia's AI accelerators.
Ahn Ki-hyun, executive vice president of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, told The Korea Herald that the situation could even prove favorable: if another company were to fill the gap left by Nvidia, it would still need their HBM. He noted that Nvidia depends on few suppliers and that no alternatives appear to be available, adding that supply could be spread across multiple customers rather than concentrated on a single one.
The newspaper also reports estimates from research institutes and investment banks. LS Securities forecasts that Nvidia will account for 57 percent of global HBM demand in 2026, down from 66 percent in 2025; Morgan Stanley estimates a 37.3 percent share in 2027, with Google at 36 percent. SemiAnalysis believes that SK hynix could charge Nvidia a lower price for HBM4 than other large customers, and that this preferential treatment could diminish without Huang.
The uncertainties over AI projects and financing
An official from a South Korean company with business ties to Nvidia, speaking to the newspaper on condition of anonymity, expressed concern above all about the new businesses personally championed by Huang, including AI factories, physical AI and robotics. The question, he said, is whether they can proceed at the same pace without him; existing contracts should hold, but projects that require years of investment before generating profits present greater uncertainty.
Meritz Securities analyst Hwang Soo-wook warned that more prudent financial commitments by the new leadership could affect AI infrastructure financing. Nvidia has helped raise capital for data center operators through investments, long-term capacity commitments and revenue guarantees; a more conservative approach could affect the pace of expansion of so-called neoclouds and their financing conditions.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix declined to comment on Nvidia's leadership situation. The actual consequences for commercial negotiations and project progress therefore remain to be verified, while the assessments reported come from analysts and industry sources and not from official communications by the companies involved.
