"AI 'kanbu alliance' in turmoil"… Jensen Huang faces ouster crisis, Samsung and Hyundai Motor on high alert

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, which has led the global artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor ecosystem, is facing direct blows from allegations involving his private life and espionage, entering a process to resign. This has triggered an emergency response for the "AI kanbu alliance" strategy of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, key pillars of the Korean business community. The leadership vacuum, which has shaken the global tech market, is expected to send massive ripples through Korea's core supply chains and the entire landscape of U.S.-bound investments.

According to recent foreign media reports, CEO Huang faced pressure from the board of directors for dismissal due to an inappropriate relationship with a Chinese female businesswoman and national security concerns. His situation was further damaged by revelations of additional relationships with company executives. The NVIDIA board immediately appointed Colette Kress, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as interim CEO and moved to manage the crisis. However, the vulnerability of a governance structure that had relied entirely on a "star founder" has been exposed, leading to a sharp drop in stock prices and rapid changes in the global technology hegemony landscape.

This collapse is also a direct blow to the Korean economy. Previously, Huang visited Seoul and held a "chimaek" meeting with Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, strengthening a powerful "kanbu alliance" in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and autonomous driving/robotics fields. However, as the ouster of CEO Huang becomes reality, not only will the valuation of the HBM value chain for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, in which the National Pension Service holds significant shares, fluctuate wildly, but speed adjustments are also inevitable for future mobility and AI collaboration projects with Hyundai Motor.

In particular, NVIDIA's leadership vacuum and potential strategic revisions act as direct uncertainty factors for domestic memory semiconductor companies' next-generation HBM (such as HBM4) supply plans and medium-to-long-term investment sentiment. Furthermore, if NVIDIA's growth slows or its strategy pivots, chain reactions of damage to domestic semiconductor exports and performance expectations are unavoidable.

Hyundai Motor has also envisioned a future mobility and robotics ecosystem based on autonomous driving platforms (Drive) and AI computing infrastructure while maintaining its future relationship with NVIDIA. However, with the resignation of Jensen Huang, a key partner, there are concerns that external collaboration projects or next-generation technology standard-setting schedules may be delayed or re-examined during the process of changes in NVIDIA's internal governance structure and management turnover.

As U.S. congressional and intelligence agency sanctions on China tighten further, attention in the business community is focused on what kind of butterfly effect the mega-bad news of NVIDIA's leadership change will have on the AI transformation strategies of domestic major corporations.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original