Nvidia interim CEO Colette Kress challenged Jensen Huang’s AI financing bets before his exit

Nvidia’s next phase of leadership could involve a closer look at how the chipmaker finances the companies driving demand for its artificial intelligence hardware. Colette Kress, who has taken over as the company’s interim CEO, had reportedly questioned some of former chief executive Jensen Huang’s financing decisions months before the leadership change. The disagreement centred on Nvidia’s willingness to offer financial support to cloud providers and data-centre developers that wanted to buy its expensive chips.

While these arrangements could help Nvidia secure customers and generate more business, they also exposed the company to financial risks. The Wall Street Journal report has now revealed how the discussions unfolded and why the disagreement became a point of tension between the two executives.

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Nvidia’s AI financing strategy raised questions

According to the WSJ, Nvidia was considering billions of dollars in financial guarantees for companies that could not afford its chips. Some of these arrangements were being led by Huang’s son-in-law, Nico Caprez, who was offering financing to emerging cloud providers and data-centre developers to turn them into long-term customers.

Kress questioned how Nvidia should evaluate these guarantees, select companies and calculate potential returns. During an August meeting with senior finance executives, Huang reportedly called her “a deer in the headlights” and described her as a “reporting CFO” rather than someone who could help shape strategy.

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Huang was also concerned that major cloud providers were exploring alternative chips to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. The company’s commitments to purchase large quantities of chip wafers and memory were another concern, which he reportedly described as an “avalanche”.

Kress pushed for tighter checks on deals

The WSJ reported that Kress helped cut Nvidia’s proposed financial commitment to an OpenAI data-centre project by half. The smaller agreement was signed on August 17. Huang subsequently asked executives to develop a framework to assess whether guarantees were worthwhile, including the chip sales they could generate. Nvidia also paused some financing deals, with customers told that such arrangements would face greater executive and board scrutiny.

Kress publicly defended the investments, saying: “We recognize the scale of this support, and we know some will call this circular financing. We see it differently.” She also said returns on invested capital would be excellent.

In October, Huang reportedly urged cloud customers to maintain a diverse customer base rather than concentrate capacity among a few buyers. He told them that, “You are not establishing the value of my products.”

Kress, Nvidia’s CFO since 2013, will continue in that role while serving as interim CEO. The board is considering internal and external candidates for a permanent successor.