Author comments that Jensen Huang's departure may end the "Nvidia put"

Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO on Thursday, and a Semafor columnist says this ends the "Nvidia put" that backstopped the AI ecosystem. The author, Liz Hoffman, says Huang long backstopped the hardest-to-support parts of the AI sector through investments, acquisitions, hiring and guarantees, and that this role kept the AI financing market running. The article lists Nvidia guaranteeing more than $100 billion in data center leases and holding $51 billion in private company stock and $63 billion in public company stock. The author argues the successor will face high risk comparable to Tim Cook succeeding Steve Jobs and will be subject to stricter board constraints, and that AI debt and equity costs will rise, making the AI buildout more expensive for everyone.