Back in March 2025, then-privately held chip enterprise Cerebras hosted an exclusive gathering at a compact venue in downtown San Jose, aiming to attract clients visiting town for Nvidia’s massive four-day GTC developer conference. “They’re the big dog,” Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman remarked just an hour prior to the event. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be smart as the David to their Goliath.”

Nineteen months later, the leader of that Goliath looks far from invincible. On Thursday, Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang stepped down following a multi-day crisis. On Sunday, he acknowledged an extramarital relationship with a woman whom US intelligence agents claim is a Chinese spy. By Wednesday night, disclosures emerged regarding a second affair with an Nvidia executive reporting directly to him, followed by reports of a third relationship after his ouster. CFO Colette Kress has stepped in as interim chief while the board initiates a search for a permanent successor.

The Crack in the Fortress

Although Nvidia remains the undisputed titan of the semiconductor sector, the exit of Huang—widely regarded as one of tech's most powerful and influential figures—leaves a gaping void at the firm he established 33 years ago. The once-unassailable fortress now shows fractures; Nvidia shares plummeted over 10% following his resignation, relegating it to the second most valuable company globally behind Apple. Huang had previously dropped out of the world’s top 10 richest individuals as the scandal unfolded.

Huang’s departure marks a watershed moment for the industry, clearing a pathway for hungry competitors seeking entry into a tightly guarded market. “Are we going to see more competition? Hell yeah,” asserts Bob O’Donnell, founder and principal analyst at Technalysis Research. “We’re going to see a lot more companies talking about this.” He notes that firms were already attempting to diversify their semiconductor suppliers beyond Nvidia, and this upheaval accelerates that push. A venture capitalist echoed this sentiment, stating, “This will further push in the direction of diversification. We’ll certainly look back on this as a watershed event.”

Rivals Eyeing the Market

Sporting a $23 billion market capitalization, Cerebras—which went public last year—stands among several contenders positioned to capitalize on Huang’s downfall, with its share price rising nearly 13% since the Monday following his initial disclosure. The company declined to comment.

Additional next-generation competitors vying for a share of Nvidia's roughly 75% AI chip market dominance include:

  • Etched: Valued at $21 billion following a $700 million funding round led by Jane Street in August.
  • SambaNova: Valued at $11 billion and backed by Intel.
  • Groq: A former rival essentially acquired by Nvidia for approximately $20 billion last Christmas Eve.

Both SambaNova and Etched declined or did not respond to requests for comment.

Hyperscalers and AMD Advance

Hyperscalers and alternative AI operators have also made significant headway with proprietary hardware. More than a decade ago, Google developed its Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), an in-house chip tailored specifically for artificial intelligence. Initially deployed for internal services like Gmail, YouTube, and Waymo autonomous vehicles, Google began renting TPUs to external clients via its cloud in 2018. In October 2025, Google secured a major victory by signing an agreement with Anthropic to supply up to 1 million TPUs—a contract Anthropic expanded in April by an undisclosed amount. Furthermore, Anthropic committed $100 billion to Amazon over the next decade to leverage its Tranium and Graviton chips for running the Claude model. Meanwhile, OpenAI launched its proprietary chip, designated Jalapeno, in July to reduce dependency on expensive Nvidia GPUs. “The way I view it — and I’m not sure this is the way Jensen or Nvidia view it — we’re competing among friends,” OpenAI head of chips Richard Ho stated.

Naturally, AMD remains Nvidia's most formidable adversary, with CEO Lisa Su frequently mentioned as a potential successor to Huang. Valued at $957 billion, the chip behemoth recorded nearly $35 billion in annual revenue last year and secured major computing agreements with both OpenAI and Anthropic. Dan Ives, an analyst with Yorkville Ive, characterized the situation as a “huge opportunity” for AMD and Su to take center stage.

AMD, Google, Amazon, and OpenAI did not respond to inquiries for comment.

Uncertainty on the Horizon

While Huang’s resignation represents a stunning collapse, any territory gained by competitors will not happen overnight. Nvidia remains a near-$4 trillion enterprise generating $215 billion in annual revenue. Yet Huang belonged to an elite class of founders—comparable to Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg—whose identities are inextricably linked to their organizations. Hailed as a visionary for steering the firm toward artificial intelligence early on, his absence leaves the company's long-term trajectory less certain once current product roadmaps are exhausted.

The bigger question is what happens two or three years from now, says O'Donnell.