How a sex scandal at Nvidia is putting pressure on the White House

The Nvidia boss was one of the few business leaders with direct access to the US president. He had met Trump repeatedly, travelled with him to Britain and, in May, joined him on Air Force One for his trip to China. Jensen Huang wasn't just another tech billionaire seeking the president's ear. He had become an important voice in one of the biggest arguments inside the administration: how much of America's most advanced technology should be allowed to reach China.

Nvidia makes the chips that power the AI revolution. Washington has restricted exports of its most advanced processors to China since 2022, believing they could help Beijing develop its military and technological capabilities. But enforcing those restrictions is difficult. Chips can be bought legally by customers in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia and then diverted to China.

Chinese companies can also rent access to computing power through data centres outside the country. Jensen Huang has long argued that the restrictions are counterproductive.