Nvidia Faces DOJ Antitrust Scrutiny After Jensen Huang's Departure

The Justice Department opened fresh antitrust scrutiny of Nvidia following Jensen Huang's resignation, according to Semafor. Two administration officials said multiple probes now threaten to sweep up Nvidia, one being an antitrust investigation focused specifically on the chipmaker. The probes center on the involvement of Alice Huang, described as an alleged Chinese spy. Separate DOJ inquiries also target Megaspeed and SMCI. There is no indication of pending criminal charges against Nvidia or Huang. Nvidia stock fell roughly 5% and SMCI dropped roughly 12% following the news.

The 2026 scrutiny follows an earlier DOJ antitrust investigation that surfaced in September 2024, when the DOJ sent investigative demands to Nvidia and other companies. That inquiry focused on Nvidia's acquisition of RunAI and whether Nvidia gave preferential supply and pricing to customers who used its technology exclusively or bought complete Nvidia systems. Nvidia disputed it had received a formal subpoena, saying it received a civil investigative demand rather than a legally binding subpoena, and denied all allegations of anticompetitive behavior. The DOJ's San Francisco office led that earlier inquiry.

Huang's departure was preceded by a Bloomberg interview filmed October 14, 2026, in which he told interviewer Emily Chang that succession at Nvidia is not guaranteed: "just as I can be fired, the next CEO has to be hired. And I like it that way." He said the company cannot afford complacency and that his own children would have to earn any role. A WSJ report noted that Huang ran an unusually flat organization with roughly 60 direct reports rather than grooming a single heir. Nvidia's SEC proxy statement warned that poor succession planning could harm strategy, execution, and long-term success. The WSJ also noted that a successor could inherit Huang's operating role but not his direct relationships with President Trump and foreign officials he had lobbied on chip export policy.