She reportedly left Megaspeed in 2025.Tightening chip controlsFor his part, Jensen Huang had long maintained that wider access to US technology would help Washington preserve its edge in the global AI race.Bessent, however, questioned whether Nvidia had turned a blind eye to potentially illicit chip sales to bolster its financial results.In Sunday’s television appearance, Bessent suggested a 10-day deadline for the company to show its compliance with US export controls.“I think we need answers in the next 10 days from the board and from the outside counsel,” Bessent said.“I want to keep coming back to what was the culture at Nvidia, and were they pressing these seemingly illicit sales to goose their revenues and their earnings?”The controversy has encouraged a bipartisan push in Congress to tighten controls on US chip exports to China.Lawmakers, including Republican Senator Jim Banks and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, have sought to use the annual end-of-year defence bill to close loopholes that Chinese companies can exploit to obtain advanced US-designed semiconductors.But Bessent questioned the need for new laws, telling Fox News host Larry Kudlow that Washington’s existing export controls were sufficient but needed better enforcement.“I don’t think we need the legislation,” he said. “We have all the rules we need; we just need them enforced.”A new leader for Nvidia?Since Huang’s departure, rumours have swirled about who might replace him at Nvidia’s helm.The company’s board has floated Rene Haas, the chief executive of the semiconductor firm Arm Holdings, as a possible successor to Huang, according to the Financial Times.Haas is no stranger to Nvidia, having spent several years at the company before joining the British chip designer.Trump, meanwhile, has named former Apple chief executive Tim Cook as a potential candidate.In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump praised Huang’s work at Nvidia and said Cook was an ideal candidate to replace him.“A Legend replaces a Legend,” Trump wrote.But the Financial Times has suggested Huang may seek to return to his top-level post. In a report on Sunday, the publication said unnamed allies of his are rallying Silicon Valley executives to support his return to the company.“Everyone that matters in tech outside the frontier labs loves Jensen,” one source told the Financial Times.Currently, chief financial officer Colette Kress is leading Nvidia on an interim basis.