Nvidia Without Jensen Huang Leaves Asian Chip Suppliers Cautious
Analysts say Jensen Huang's exit as Nvidia CEO is unlikely to disrupt Samsung or TSMC soon. Doubts remain over the product roadmap and partner ties. SK Hynix shares closed 3.03% lower on Friday, and ASUS is seeking a meeting with interim CEO Colette Kress.
Nvidia without Jensen Huang is unlikely to disrupt Asian chip suppliers in the near term, analysts at South Korean brokerage Daol Investment & Securities said in a research note on Friday, November 13, 2026. The longer-term picture is less clear.
What the analysts expect
Nam Dae-jong and Kim Yeon-mi said Huang's departure should not change the semiconductor industry's near-term outlook. They flagged uncertainty over Nvidia's medium- to long-term product roadmap. One open question is how new leadership would coordinate with partners across the AI ecosystem.
They expect Nvidia's foundry relationship with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to stay unchanged, given the established partnership. They also expect it to continue with Samsung's foundry business, citing growing cooperation. That includes manufacturing on Samsung's 4-nanometer process and work on next-generation high-bandwidth memory.
Custom AI chips, known as application-specific integrated circuits, are emerging as alternatives to Nvidia's graphics processors, the analysts said. That could speed up diversification in the AI chip market. They cautioned against reading rising competition as weaker demand for high-bandwidth memory.
Markets react
SK Hynix, another key Nvidia supplier, reversed earlier gains to close 3.03% lower on Friday. South Korea's Kospi index also gave up early gains.
Shinhan Securities said investors had initially looked past the leadership change and focused on the wider AI outlook. iM Securities said the impact on the broader chip sector appeared limited. It pointed to gains in AMD and Broadcom shares in the previous US session and continued investor demand for AI companies.
A supplier's view
ASUS co-CEO S.Y. Hsu told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that the shake-up should not change Nvidia's competitive advantages soon. "I think Nvidia's product and the total AI ecosystem, the advantage will not change overnight," Hsu said.
ASUS works with Nvidia on graphics cards and AI servers. Hsu said the company has yet to interact with interim CEO Colette Kress and is seeking a meeting to understand any strategic changes. It will watch for effects on product quality, service costs and deliveries.
Over the longer term, Hsu said Huang played a key role in helping Nvidia and its partners speed up innovation. He said he would be watching whether the company can keep that pace without him.
How the change came about
Media reports earlier this week said Nvidia's board was meeting to decide whether to remove Huang, who has led the company for more than three decades. News of the possible split sent Nvidia shares down about 8% in after-hours trading. Bloomberg's reporter said on X that the board was working with an outside firm to identify potential successors.
The reports followed Nvidia's investigation into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. Huang acknowledged in a note to employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife. Beijing rejected the espionage allegation.
Shareholders sued Nvidia and Huang on Monday in a proposed class action. The suit accuses them of concealing the alleged relationship and the risks it posed to the company.
