Podcaster and AI researcher Lex Fridman has come out in defence of Jensen Huang, calling Nvidia's decision to let its co-founder go "a huge mistake, for America and for humanity", a day after the chipmaker announced his resignation.
In a post on X on Friday, Fridman compared the situation to Apple's 1985 removal of Steve Jobs. "It's Apple firing Steve Jobs all over again, but much bigger, given the role of AI in defining the future of our world," he wrote.
Fridman said he had stayed quiet out of respect for Huang's family and team, whom he described as "amazing humans", and because he "personally hate[s] infidelity". He said his heart goes out to them "in this difficult personal family moment". He added that Huang "is human, and makes mistakes like all of us do".
The podcaster said he has known Huang for a long time and spent considerable time with him away from cameras. He claimed to have seen Huang show "kindness, humility, care to everyone around him", including strangers and people from the poorest parts of society. That, Fridman wrote, "shows rare character".
He also said that more than a thousand people who know Huang well, including hundreds of engineers, CEOs, colleagues and friends, have spoken warmly of him in private over the years.
Addressing the espionage allegations, Fridman wrote that Huang is as proud an American as there is. He said he was in shock at "all of this, including the mass hysteria around it". He ended with "I stand with Jensen" and "Love you all".
Huang, 63, resigned as Nvidia chief executive on Thursday after admitting in a November 8 statement to an affair. The Financial Times reported that the relationship was with Alice Huang, whom US intelligence officials suspect of spying for China.
The New York Times later reported a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, and Reuters reported on a second employee. None of the allegations beyond Huang's own admission has been confirmed by Nvidia, and Alice Huang could not be reached for comment by Reuters.
Chief financial officer Colette Kress is interim CEO while the board searches for a successor. Nvidia shares closed 4.3% lower on Thursday after falling as much as 16%, according to CNBC and NBC News. The company reports third-quarter results on Tuesday, November 17.
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