Nvidia's $500 Billion AI Financing Plan Wobbles After Huang Exit

At least one of six Wall Street firms has discussed withdrawing from Nvidia's $500 billion AI financing initiative, two days after Jensen Huang stepped down as chief executive, The New York Times reported on the 13th, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Huang announced the plan in August together with Apollo Global Management, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs and KKR. The consortium aimed to supply more than $500 billion for AI computing infrastructure. No loans have been made under the plan so far.

The initiative was designed to help AI companies raise the money they need to buy Nvidia's chips and computing equipment. Huang led the effort personally, contacting the heads of financial firms — including Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon — to propose forming a consortium for joint lending, according to the Times.

Some executives at the participating firms said they had not been fully briefed on the plan, the Times reported, and no specific funding had been secured at the time.

In short: a half-trillion-dollar lending vehicle announced in August exists on paper only, and its champion is gone.

What has delayed the first deal?

Negotiations over financial guarantees had already stalled before Huang stepped down. Bloomberg reported on the same day, citing multiple people, that Nvidia had come under pressure over the past month from some customers and Wall Street firms to expand the size of its guarantees.

The company had planned to provide residual-value guarantees covering up to 25% of each transaction. The financial firms pushed for a higher level of coverage.

Bloomberg, citing one person, said an actual transaction may not be announced until January at the earliest — and that assumes Huang's exit does not derail individual contracts or the financing program as a whole.

The takeaway: the first loan under the plan is now a 2025-or-later prospect at best, and even that hinges on the consortium holding together.

Why does Huang's exit ripple beyond Nvidia?

Beyond the financing initiative, Huang had driven large-scale investment and fundraising across the AI industry. Nvidia has taken stakes in data center companies including CoreWeave, Nebius and IREN, and has moved aggressively into investments and acquisitions involving AI chips and related technology.

Wall Street banks, asset managers and financial advisers have earned billions of dollars in fees from those transactions. Huang's departure therefore raises concerns not only for the AI industry but also for the Wall Street firms arranging the related deals.

"Nvidia is the central bank of the AI industry," said Michael Edwards, a director at Forum Markets, an investment bank specializing in AI. "Imagine a Federal Reserve without a chairman."

Will Nvidia's influence actually shrink?

Others argue it will not, pointing to the company's position rather than its leadership. Nvidia remains central to global AI chip supply and holds ample cash.

The political backdrop also favors continuity: the Trump administration has maintained a regulatory stance favorable to the AI industry.

The bottom line: the $500 billion plan's fate now rests on whether six lenders stay at the table without Huang lobbying them to remain.