Cardano founder sees an opportunity in AMD now that Nvidia has to move forward without Huang

The unexpected departure of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has caused considerable turmoil in the U.S. stock market. Companies that rely on Nvidia's popular AI chips were hit particularly hard.

Nevertheless, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano (ADA), sees an interesting investment opportunity. He points to a major competitor of Nvidia that, in his view, could benefit from the situation.

Jensen Huang has stepped down as CEO of Nvidia. This marks the end of his 33-year leadership at the company, which has grown into one of the most important players in the field of artificial intelligence.

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over the reins for the time being. She has been with Nvidia since 2013 and, in addition to her new role, will also remain responsible for finances. In the meantime, the board is searching for a permanent successor, considering both internal and external candidates.

The change at the top is also attracting the attention of the crypto world. Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and director of blockchain company Input Output, responded on X with some striking investment advice.

“Nvidia has just replaced a visionary engineer and founder with a CFO. Buy AMD shares,” Hoskinson wrote.

In doing so, he criticizes the decision to temporarily put a financial director at the helm. At the same time, he expresses his preference for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a direct competitor of Nvidia in the AI chip market.

AMD was already attracting the attention of investors. The stock had risen by about forty percent since its low on November 5. There was even speculation about a possible price target of $600.

Following Huang's departure, AMD rose by about three percent during the first hours of trading. Chipmaker Broadcom also benefited from the shift in sentiment, with its share price rising by up to six percent.

While Hoskinson sees opportunities at AMD, the situation is much less rosy for several other technology companies.

So-called neocloud companies, in particular, came under heavy selling pressure. These companies build large data centers with powerful AI chips and then lease the computing power to other companies.

Nebius lost about nineteen percent of its market value during trading. Competitor CoreWeave saw its share price fall by twelve percent.

Both companies are heavily dependent on Nvidia's technology. Huang's departure therefore raises questions about the future direction of their key supplier.

Other companies in this sector were also affected. The IREN share price fell by about eight percent, while the Roundhill Neocloud ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks several of these companies, lost more than twelve percent before the opening of the U.S. stock market.

The uncertainty comes at a difficult time. AI companies are investing huge sums in new data centers, while rising financing costs are putting pressure on their profitability.

For Nebius, there was more at stake than just the departure of the Nvidia CEO. The company also presented quarterly results that did little to instill confidence in investors.

Nebius expects 2026 revenue to be at the low end of its previously issued guidance of $3 billion to $3.4 billion.

This is partly due to the fact that additional capacity from external suppliers will not be available until early 2027. As a result, the company will be unable to expand as quickly as planned.

At the same time, investment plans are actually increasing. Nebius increased its expected spending for 2026 to approximately $27 billion. Previously, it had expected $20 billion to $25 billion.

This combination of slower growth and higher costs increases financial pressure. The broader AI sector is also grappling with more expensive financing, partly because interest rates on long-term U.S. Treasury bonds have risen above five percent.

An important moment for Nvidia is coming up on November 17. The company will then present its quarterly results, for the first time under Kress's leadership. This will give investors greater insight into the chip giant's financial performance, while the search for a permanent successor to Huang continues.