Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s resignation on Thursday has left a major gap in America’s AI lineup, while an alleged Chinese spy is accused of targeting one of the country’s most influential technology leaders. It’s a serious setback, and it adds uncertainty to the U.S.-China race for AI leadership.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has reason to watch America’s progress closely. If the U.S. keeps its lead in artificial intelligence, it could complicate Beijing’s ambitions to expand its global influence.
Nvidia has grown into a giant under Huang, becoming the first company to pass a $5 trillion market value. Other business leaders have praised him as a visionary and a valued partner. But the company has also faced scrutiny: reports of chip smuggling prompted Singapore to open an investigation in 2025.
Here are some steps the U.S. should consider as it confronts the challenge from China.
1. Recognize how far China’s influence efforts reach
It should not come as a surprise that an alleged Chinese spy was accused of targeting Huang. Americans need to pay closer attention to the risks of foreign influence and espionage.
Reporting in 2022 described Chinese efforts to build influence among state and local officials in the U.S. People working in defense already know to be cautious around strangers asking pointed questions at trade shows. That caution, the argument goes, should extend more broadly.
China’s national security laws can require citizens to provide information to the Ministry of State Security when asked. That creates concerns about potential pressure on Chinese nationals living or working abroad, including business executives and university students. The risks should be assessed carefully, without assuming that any individual is acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
2. Give competitors room to grow
Nvidia dominates much of the AI chip market, but it is not the only company capable of supplying advanced processors. AMD is a major rival; its chips power El Capitan, which ranked as the world’s fastest supercomputer when it debuted.
Google, Amazon Web Services, Meta and Microsoft are also developing or deploying their own chips, both inside their companies and through cloud services. Some analysts expect the custom AI chip market to grow from $32 billion in 2026 to $132 billion by 2035. Google, for instance, is releasing newer generations of its Tensor Processing Units as companies look for ways to rely less on Nvidia hardware.
That shift is already underway. As one Yahoo Finance columnist put it, Nvidia is facing scrutiny around its leadership while Google builds chips that could compete for the same customers.
3. Keep investment moving
The U.S. has an advantage in its ability to direct private capital toward startups, mergers and other investments. In China, the government plays a much larger role; in the U.S., major technology companies help finance the AI ecosystem.
That makes uncertainty around Nvidia especially significant. Huang’s company has provided financial support to customers and partners across the industry, and a change in leadership could raise questions about whether that support will continue.
Nvidia’s financial commitments include a $3 billion purchase of Meta stock and a $105 billion guarantee related to OpenAI data-center leases in Ohio. Colette Kress, who is moving from chief financial officer to interim CEO, will be familiar with those arrangements. The money needs to keep flowing, and policymakers should be careful not to impose rules that unnecessarily slow investment.
4. Compete for markets around the world
Huang had sought to preserve Nvidia’s place in China’s AI chip market, but the situation has changed sharply. Nvidia held an estimated 95% share of that market in 2022. China’s push for technological self-reliance, combined with U.S. export restrictions, helped reduce the company’s share to about 40% in 2025. One forecast puts it at just 8% in 2026.
In a 2025 interview, Huang warned that if U.S. companies do not participate in China, domestic firms such as Huawei will fill the gap—and may compete elsewhere, too.
Market share was not always treated as a central part of national security policy. During the Cold War, restricting exports of sensitive goods could be enough. That approach may be less effective now, as Chinese companies build AI systems and data centers to gain customers and strengthen their own technology industries.
The U.S. government cannot win the AI race on its own. Whether Nvidia can continue to lead the way remains an open question.
