I believe Jensen Huang didn’t know she is a spy. But I think his biggest mistake is his persistent push to sell Nvidia’s chips to China as though this were purely a commercial decision.
Nvidia’s success—and America’s strength in innovation—depends on more than talent and capital. It also rests on the institutions of a free, democratic society: human rights, property rights, free expression, and limits on government power. These are not abstract ideological concerns. They are foundations of the freedom to innovate and build.
People who grow up with these freedoms can take them for granted. Once successful, they may view the world through a purely commercial lens, mistaking an authoritarian government’s pursuit of national wealth for a commitment to its citizens’ wellbeing. Under authoritarian rule, prosperity remains subordinate to preserving the ruling group’s power. A wealthy state is not the same as prosperous, independent citizens with the right to say no.
That is the blind spot I see in Jensen Huang: a profound understanding of business, coupled with an apparent failure to appreciate the freedoms and institutions that helped make his achievements possible.