Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya warned that subjecting Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) to heavier government oversight after Jensen Huang’s exit would be a "disaster," invoking Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) years under a Justice Department consent decree as a cautionary comparison.
Chamath Invokes Microsoft’s DOJ Era
Palihapitiya wrote on X that "the years after the consent decree with Microsoft, its stock was a wastewater," adding, "You couldn’t sneeze without asking DoJ permission."
"Oversight at Nvidia would be a disaster and would accomplish nothing except to cede our lead to foreign countries by entangling our smartest engineers in endless bureaucracy and red tape," Palihapitiya wrote.
His comments came after House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar responded to Huang’s departure by calling it an "unfortunate end that could have been avoided."
Moolenaar said it was in the national interest for Nvidia and other U.S. AI companies to succeed, but argued American companies should not give Chinese companies access to their most advanced chips.
He called on Nvidia to "change its corporate practices" and appoint leadership that makes national security its "top priority."
The Republican lawmaker also urged Congress to quickly pass bipartisan export-control legislation through the year-end national defense bill.
Nvidia Names Kress Interim CEO
Nvidia announced Thursday that Huang had resigned as president, CEO, and a member of the board, effective immediately. Jensen Huang resigned amid a board investigation, following an admission of an affair with Alice Huang, allegedly a suspected Chinese spy, and reports of another affair with an Nvidia Executive.
The company named Executive Vice President and CFO Colette Kress interim CEO while its board searches for a permanent successor.
Nvidia said Kress will continue serving as CFO during the transition, while board Chair Harvey Jones said the company expects operations, customer commitments and its product roadmap to continue without interruption.
Microsoft Comparison
Palihapitiya’s comparison refers to the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Microsoft. A federal court entered a final judgment in November 2002 after Microsoft, the U.S. government and nine states consented to its terms.
Justice Department records show the agency subsequently monitored Microsoft’s compliance through advisories and status reports for years.
No comparable Microsoft-style consent decree has been announced for Nvidia.
How Has NVDA Performed in 2026?
The stock was lower by 14.25% over the last year, down 10.89% year-to-date, and lower by 26.57% over the last month. It closed 4.34% lower at $166.19 per share on Thursday. The stock rose about 1.70% in premarket trading on Friday.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NVDA maintains a negative price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a good quality score.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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