Nvidia CEO Resigns, Canadian Pensions Stunned
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang announced his resignation, an event that sent strong reactions through Canada’s financial circles and business community, showing the nation’s deep connections to the American semiconductor leader. Huang stepped down after acknowledging an extramarital relationship with an individual alleged to be a Chinese intelligence operative, as well as a separate liaison with an executive inside the firm.
Huang, married to Lori for 41 years, relinquished his titles as president and director.
Canadian retirement funds own a sizeable portion of Nvidia equity. Seven of the country’s largest pension plans together hold roughly US$20.7 billion of the chipmaker’s shares as of the June 30 reporting date. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board accounts for the biggest slice, valued at about US$10.3 billion.
The 103 million shares held by the seven plans illustrate one way the chipmaker’s fortunes are entwined with Canadian business, while the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan owns US$4.4 billion, La Caisse US$2.5 billion and PSP Investments US$2.2 billion.
Nvidia’s Impact on Canadian Business
The firm plays a central role in the nation’s artificial-intelligence ecosystem, supplying hardware, software and capital to a range of projects. It also acts as a partner in financing AI-focused data centres and research initiatives across the country. After Huang’s departure, the share price fell sharply, sliding roughly 20 percent from the close recorded on the preceding Friday.
The board opened an inquiry after reports surfaced that Huang’s relationship with a senior officer at a Singapore-based data-centre operator may have exposed him to foreign intelligence activity. While the directors initially expressed confidence in his stewardship, they later announced his exit once a second affair became public.
Read Also: Blue J’s valuation tops $1B with AI tax tool growth
Investments and Partnerships
The company has placed capital into several Canadian ventures, notably the language-model startup Cohere and the autonomous-driving firm Waabi. It also teamed up with telecommunications provider Telus to outfit data-centre facilities with Nvidia graphics processors and related software. Through its venture arm, the firm backed a number of emerging businesses, including industrial-automation specialist Vention.
Nvidia also returned as an equity investor in Cohere’s $7-billion Series E round, and Bell’s 300-megawatt data centre near Regina will house Nvidia chips through tenant CoreWeave. Earlier in January the venture arm supplied US$750 million to Toronto-based autonomous-driving startup Waabi and US$110 million to Montreal-based automation firm Vention.
Market analysts argue that the underlying business remains stronger than the stock’s recent performance. Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein cut the rating on the shares, pointing to uncertainty about who will succeed Huang in the long run. The board named chief financial officer Colette Kress interim CEO and longtime director Harvey Jones its first board chair.
Future Outlook
One of the longer-term issues concerns the deal flow that has driven the firm’s rapid expansion. Existing contracts are expected to survive the leadership transition, yet the outlook for fresh partnerships remains unclear.
Since the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Nvidia’s stock has surged approximately 800 percent. At the recent low point on Thursday, Canadian pension funds collectively saw a decline of about US$5.3 billion in value.
Directors said they expect operations and customer commitments to continue without interruption.
