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Pic of Decoder with Nilay Patel

Jensen Huang is out. What did China want from him?

November 12, 2026
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Decoder with Nilay Patel

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Today, we’re talking about the Jensen Huang scandal at Nvidia, which is developing so quickly that we had to do an emergency update of this intro minutes before publishing this episode — Huang just resigned from his position as CEO of Nvidia as news of his affairs, including with an alleged Chinese spy, threatened to engulf the company.  We’ll have more on that story as things develop. But just two days ago I talked to Kyle Chan, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center, about the real heart of the scandal: what China would even seek to accomplish by having a spy so close to Jensen, and what the state of the US-China AI conflict really looks like, particularly from the Chinese point of view. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links:  Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns amid spy, affair scandals | The Verge It only takes a prick to pop a bubble | Vergecast Jensen Huang said ot have had relationship with Nvidia exec | NYT What could China get from Jensen Huang? | The Verge The US is winning the AI race. Jensen Huang could have blown it | The Verge The future of AI hinges on… Jensen Huang’s sex life? | The Verge Nvidia’s board has a history of letting Jensen Huang get his way | NYT Commerce Dept. inquiry halted after Nvidia intervention | NYT Rubio warned officials about Huang’s affair with Chinese spy  | NYT China’s top spy agency recruited woman who targeted Huang | NYT Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. The show is edited by Ursa Wright and Xander Adams. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices