Cousins To Rivals: How Jensen Huang's Fall Could Help AMD's Lisa Su In AI Chip Race

Nvidia might have allowed its competitors to close the gap after Jensen Huang resigned as its chief executive, following a string of extramarital affairs which included an alleged romantic relationship with an alleged Chinese state asset. While rival AMD has already been gaining ground in the stock market, Nvidia's sudden leadership void gives the chipmaker its biggest opening yet and, ironically, the person best positioned to capitalise on it is related to Huang. AMD is led by Lisa Tzwu-Fang Su, Huang's cousin, who rescued the struggling semiconductor firm from the brink of collapse and rebuilt it into a global powerhouse capable of going toe-to-toe with Nvidia and Intel.

The Taiwanese American CEO joined AMD in 2012 when the company's market value was under $2 billion. As of this week, AMD's value as a company had leapfrogged to $950 billion, primarily due to Su's focus on innovation in high-performance graphics. Ryzen CPUs and EPYC server processors developed under Su's reign have given AMD its own identity over the years.

Su and Huang are first cousins, once removed, with Huang being the elder. Su's maternal grandfather is the eldest brother of Huang's mother, according to a report in Business Insider. While both grew up in the US, they never met until well into their respective careers.

Addressing his rivalry with Su, Huang once jokingly remarked, "When we give a presentation, the whole market goes up. When she gives a presentation, my stock price goes down."

Su's Rise

Born in Tainan, Taiwan, in 1969 to Su Chun-hwai and Sand Ho, Su's family immigrated to America when she was around three years old as her father was pursuing his graduate degree at the University of Texas. The family eventually settled in Queens, New York City, and she went to Bronx High School of Science before graduating in 1986.

Afterwards, Su joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she completed her bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees over the years. Upon leaving academia, Su worked in engineering, research, and managerial roles at Texas Instruments, IBM, and Freescale Semiconductor.

At AMD, Su adopted a "semi-custom" approach under which AMD modified its core technologies to meet individual customer needs, according to a report in Business Insider. This pivot allowed the firm to secure contracts to design and manufacture chips for Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One. Two years after joining AMD, she was promoted to president and CEO.

Also Read | 'Turning China Into Enemy Not The Best Answer': Jensen Huang's Old Interview Resurfaces After Nvidia Exit

Jensen Huang's Exit

Huang ended his 33-year association with Nvidia on Thursday after pressure mounted on him over his romantic associations and personal conduct. Apart from Alice Huang, Huang allegedly had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care. Hours after his exit, a Reuters report claimed that Huang had a third intimate relationship with another unnamed Nvidia employee.

After Huang's exit was announced on Thursday, some industry experts floated Su as a possible outside candidate. Nvidia's board appointed finance chief Colette Kress as interim CEO while it conducts a search to replace Huang. The board is considering internal and external candidates for the job.