Nvidia investors are rushing to CEO Jensen Huang's defense publicly, while privately expressing disappointment following the executive's admission of an affair with a purported Chinese spy.

Why it matters: Investors appear to be campaigning to prevent Huang from getting ousted from the CEO spot. Nvidia shares are down more than 5% in pre-market trading, but other tech stocks appear to be holding up, meaning the episode doesn't appear poised to trigger a large-scale selloff.

What they're saying: A tech investor with Nvidia holdings called the situation "profoundly disappointing" but added that they think Huang will stay in the CEO seat, as the company is too essential to fail given its role at the center of the AI ecosystem.

• Nvidia's board launched an independent probe, which investors worry could result in pressure for Huang to leave his post.
• "Nvidia and its AI success and ambitions are heavily tied to him staying on as CEO," Dan Ives, senior managing director at Yorkville Ives, wrote in a note to clients.

Zoom in: Major investors rushed to publicly support Huang.

• Huang "is an incredible human. ... We should all support him and his family. Onward," Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman wrote on X.
• Gavin Baker, managing partner and CIO of Atreides Management, said on X: "I simply do not believe he would ever knowingly do anything to disadvantage either America or Nvidia."

Zoom out: The timing is not ideal for investors.

• Huang's admission comes after tech stocks were in a post-election rout, resulting in $2.5 trillion being taken out of the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
• Also: Congress, having turned blue, is looking to investigate tech execs who work closely with the Trump administration.
• An investor told Axios they were concerned about the amount of time Huang would have to spend in Washington as investigations unfold.

Threat level: A new CEO could hurt not just Nvidia, but the broader market.

• This could result in a "wholesale bursting" of the AI bubble, Joe Brusuelas, principal and chief economist at RSM, told Axios.
• It's "disturbing," portfolio manager Adam Johnson at Bullseye told Axios, adding that it concerns him because "generally speaking, boards dismiss CEOs" after affairs: "I hope they don't."

The bottom line: Nvidia's key man risk is strong, and investors who may be skeptical behind closed doors are rushing to Huang's support publicly.

There is no Nvidia — nor an AI boom as we know it — without Jensen Huang. He has reassured jittery markets with his words, bankrolled a trillion-dollar buildout and put economies on his shoulders.

• Now, the world is wondering if he can save himself.

Why it matters: Global markets must confront a terrifying reality: The AI ecosystem's first "too big to fail" executive is suddenly vulnerable, and there is no backup plan if he is forced to step down.

Catch up quick: Huang apologized Sunday and Nvidia's board launched an independent probe after he admitted to having a relationship with a woman named Alice Huang, an alleged Chinese operative.

• Nvidia's board expressed confidence in his leadership and said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
• President Trump stood by Huang, calling him "an honorable guy."

The big picture: Keeping his job is one thing. Maintaining the ability to steady markets, finance customers and shape government policy is another.

These are the five questions that now loom over the AI boom:

1. What happens to Nvidia? Forged 33 years ago (initially using a Denny's as an impromptu office), Nvidia is a uniquely founder-driven company, making any potential leadership transition incredibly perilous. Investors have little precedent for valuing the company without him.

• "It's very hard to envision Nvidia run by anybody else," said Dan Gallagher, an analyst with Washington Post Intelligence and long a keen observer of the chip titan.
• Huang has more than 60 direct reports, eschews traditional corporate layers and hasn't been publicly grooming a successor. "I don't know if anyone's going to know how to value Nvidia" without him, Gallagher told Axios.

Go deeper.

The news about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sent shock waves through an industry built on his singular influence.

Why it matters: Huang has fashioned himself as the indispensable leader of an indispensable company — a $4.5 trillion behemoth with unparalleled clout in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and inside President Trump's White House.

The big picture: For almost any other CEO, an affair with a suspected foreign intelligence operative could be career-ending. Huang's grip on Nvidia — and the company's extraordinary importance to the AI economy — may insulate him from the same fate.

The intrigue: The Trump administration reportedly knew about the suspected Chinese intelligence operation long before it became public.

• Trump was briefed in 2025, according to the Times, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally oversaw a classified intelligence memo warning senior officials this spring.

What to watch: Huang's scandal comes amid a dramatic reversal of political fortunes for the AI industry, as voters rejected data center expansion and handed control of Congress to Democrats promising tougher oversight.

• Huang's admission is now poised to open an explosive new line of inquiry: Did the White House disregard intelligence warnings while advancing policies championed by one of Trump's closest corporate allies?

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt remains staunchly bullish on an industry facing rising social pushback, saying data centers can occupy America's "empty spaces" and predicting a near-term revolution in AI-assisted research.

Why it matters: In a wide-ranging interview following his appointment to lead Caltech's board of trustees, Schmidt acknowledged the industry does a "terrible" job marketing itself to voters.

• Yet, looking from his new perch at what he calls the "crown jewel of nerddom," he sees an unstoppable wave of AI-augmented scientists poised to dominate the future workforce.

Keep reading.

• Sony launched $60 wired headphones modeled after the original 1979 Walkman, tapping into renewed demand for retro audio gear. (Bloomberg)
• Two executives at David Sacks' venture capital firm sit on the board of a pro-AI advocacy group, alongside an apparent close associate of JD Vance. (Transformer)

Maria here: I know how people feel about Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, but what's the verdict on ugly AI Christmas sweaters?