Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (젠슨 황), who symbolised the AI boom, has resigned after an affair scandal. With a figure associated with the AI boom stepping down, worries are also emerging that the fallout could spread beyond Nvidia to the U.S. economy.

According to the company, Nvidia's board will search for its next CEO among internal and external candidates. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress (콜렛 크레스) will serve as interim CEO until a permanent successor is chosen.

The market reaction to the resignation was cold. Nvidia shares fell as much as 10 percent in early trading on Nov. 12 local time. The stock has remained under pressure since news emerged that the board was investigating the relationship between Huang and Alice Huang (앨리스 황). Nvidia shares have fallen about 30 percent over the past month.

Where will Nvidia go without Jensen Huang? Assessments say it faces no shortage of hurdles.

First, Huang stepped down abruptly without succession preparations. The Wall Street Journal reported that Huang, who had about 60 direct reports, had maintained that there was no need to designate a successor in advance. He said that if a leader shares what he knows promptly and routinely with executives, there is no need to separately groom a successor. Nvidia also warned shareholders in a recent annual meeting guide document that it relies heavily on long-serving executives, and that if it fails to establish an effective succession plan, strategy and long-term performance could be shaken.

Nvidia controls about 90 percent of the market for cutting-edge chips used to train and run AI models. Competitors such as AMD and Intel could seek to take share amid the turmoil, but there is little chance its ability to develop and produce chips promised to customers will be undermined.

But Nvidia's role as a source of funds for the AI ecosystem could become a problem. Nvidia has played a role akin to a central bank funding growth in the AI industry by entering into complex deals with customers and suppliers.

In August, when OpenAI signed a lease for a 10 gigawatt data centre in Ohio, Nvidia provided loan guarantees worth $105 billion. A few days later, it formed a $500 billion AI infrastructure fund with several Wall Street firms. It also holds more than a 10 percent stake in the neocloud company CoreWeave.

The New York Times reported that Ryan Cummings of Stanford's Institute for Economic Policy Research estimated that by the size of its loan commitments and financial contracts, Nvidia would rank as the 10th-largest bank in the United States. He said, "Nvidia was at the heart of the circular finance, and at its centre was CEO Huang. Without him, its role could change, and there is no guarantee other companies will fill the void."

The timing is also delicate. In recent months, more investors have begun to doubt whether AI investment will generate corresponding returns. In last week's midterm elections, Democrats won a landslide victory, raising the possibility that regulations on data centre construction could be tightened.

The New York Times reported that in the past, whenever the AI narrative wavered, Huang played a role in easing doubts with blockbuster results or financial support, but this time it is unclear who will step forward.

Aaron Klein (애런 클라인), a financial regulation expert at the Brookings Institution, asked himself, "Can one CEO's sex life bring down the economy?" He then said, "This could be the starting point of a bubble collapse."

That could be even more the case when one company is this central. He criticised regulators for missing warning signals even as a tangled AI finance structure threatens financial stability.

Barclays economist Pooja Sriram (푸자 스리람) said if AI investment suddenly dries up and the investment frenzy in related stocks cools, the likelihood of a recession increases. A stock market shock could spread to consumer sentiment, and if households and companies are hit, it could quickly turn into a recession, she explained.

But the counterargument is also strong. Not many believe a single resignation will end the AI boom or bring a recession. The New York Times reported that many economists also see a gradual slowdown as beneficial for the economy, as breakneck AI infrastructure investment has pushed up prices and borrowing costs.

Government and congressional investigations surrounding the Jensen Huang scandal are also variables.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department is conducting multiple investigations related to Alice Huang, who is suspected of being a spy for Chinese intelligence agencies. Lawmakers including the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee are in talks with the former CEO about his closed-door testimony next week. They had previously demanded his appearance and even raised the option of issuing a subpoena.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren (의엘리자베스 워런) said Huang's resignation does not absolve him of responsibility for endangering national security or possible legal violations. She called for tighter controls on AI chip exports.

The Trump administration's chip policy toward China has also come under scrutiny. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that Huang did not know the other party was suspected of being a spy, and defended him as an "honourable person."

Despite security concerns, Trump approved Nvidia chip exports to China and accepted several policy positions advanced by Huang. The Wall Street Journal reported that these decisions have now become subjects that lawmakers and other officials are examining.

Kress, Nvidia's interim CEO, acknowledged in an internal email that this is a very difficult time, while stressing the company's role in building the technology that underpins the AI revolution. She is also scheduled to hold an all-hands meeting on the 18th.