Who is really "hunting" Jensen Huang? Analyzing the interest network behind the Nvidia controversy involving Anthropic

Original Title: Who Is Really Behind the Hunt for Jensen Huang?

Original Author: Liang Yimeng

Original Compilation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Introduction: The public opinion siege against NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang seems sudden, but a clear industry game map emerges behind it. From media revelations and think tank challenges to congressional pressure, key nodes of expression have been confirmed to overlap with NVIDIA's most aggressive industry rival, Anthropic.

The investigative author traces two trajectories: one is the relentless pressure from politicians and think tanks on chip exports, while the other is Anthropic's investment of tens of millions of dollars to build a political donation network and a Washington advisory team. When business competition is cloaked in national security, the funding chains behind it deserve deep reflection from the industry.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have publicly clashed over AI policy and chip export controls, from the fierce divisions in Washington to Huang's open opposition to a comprehensive export ban, which is already well-known in the industry.

However, examining the recent sudden gathering of forces demanding Huang's resignation reveals concerning relationships behind it. Core members of Anthropic closely overlap with the think tanks, former officials, and forums behind this wave of reports; their funding has directly supported the lawmakers challenging in Congress.

Even the funding network of this organization has participated in incubating many critics' think tank institutions. A coincidence may be just that, but a series of coincidences is certainly not. When the arena of business competition is moved to public opinion and politics, who is the biggest beneficiary of this siege?

Initially, the outside world generally believed this was just a challenge from hawkish politicians and media against NVIDIA during the election cycle. However, as the reports became increasingly bizarre, even mixed with undercurrents of prejudice against Asians, the investigative author began to trace the core reporting chain that first sparked the controversy.

Tracing the sources of New York Times reporter Ana Swanson's reports on AI and chips, the journalism community knows that if there is no high level of trust, a reporter would never repeatedly adopt the framing of the same person. And that recurring source is none other than Jack Clark, co-founder and policy director of Anthropic.

Deep Interweaving of Journalists and Sources

Jack Clark previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg and later served as the policy director at OpenAI, fully aware of the dissemination mechanisms and agenda-setting of modern news media.

Last May, he delivered a pre-dinner speech titled "Software Singularity" at the AI policy summit hosted by the Aspen Institute. The audience was filled with key decision-makers from various fields studying chip exports and technological geopolitics.

Senators and Political Donations Seizing the Opportunity

After the New York Times' accusations against Huang were published, Senator Chris Coons quickly went public, claiming Congress would investigate the so-called relationships.

In July of this year, Coons received a $2500 political donation from Anthropic's corporate political action committee, AnthroPAC. Notably, Jack Clark himself had previously contributed $5000 to that political action committee.

Clark has long worked and lived in San Francisco, while Coons represents Delaware, and the two have no local ties. Additionally, Clark is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technologies (CSET) at Georgetown University.

Georgetown University and CSET Scholar Network

Among the most radical voices targeting Huang recently, a significant portion comes from scholars at Georgetown University:

• Georgetown Law Professor and former Supreme Court clerk Mark Jia;
• Georgetown adjunct professor and former CSET analyst Ryan Fedasiuk, who has publicly called for Huang to resign;
• Former senior CIA official and current Georgetown University faculty member Dennis Wilder.

CSET was established in 2019 to study security issues related to artificial intelligence and chips. At its inception, it received $55 million in startup funding from Open Philanthropy, a core funding organization for effective altruism, whose co-founder Holden Karnofsky later joined Anthropic.

When the Pentagon identified Anthropic as a supply chain risk, legal scholars cited Mark Jia's research to defend its interests, arguing for a very high legal threshold for national security determinations. Why does this cautious standard vanish when the target shifts to Huang?

Financial Times' Narrative Advancement and Exclusive Sources

Financial Times reporter Demetri Sevastopulo, in subsequent reports, directed accusations against Huang toward so-called emotional relationships.

In September 2025, it was this reporter who exclusively revealed that Anthropic had cut off access to its AI models for companies controlled by Chinese capital. Such exclusive news, which aligns precisely with corporate public relations strategies, often stems from deep information exchanges.

Social Media's Issue Trigger Point

What truly ignited public opinion on social networks was a tweet from Chris McGuire of the Council on Foreign Relations on November 6. The tweet escalated the accusations, claiming that Huang was sharing a bed with specific individuals.

McGuire's social media account has just over ten thousand followers, but he previously served on the National Security Council, directly under Tarun Chhabra. Chhabra is now the national security policy director at Anthropic. In June of this year, the two attended a forum together in Taipei.

Within hours of the tweet's release, it quickly garnered retweets and citations from multiple lawmakers and columnists. An account with only ten thousand followers saw its tweet impressions rapidly soar past 9 million, becoming the most widely circulated post in the entire incident.

Senate Banking Committee and Closed-Door Lobbying

In February of this year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei held closed-door talks with members of the Senate Banking Committee, vigorously lobbying to tighten AI chip export controls to China. Shortly after, relevant lawmakers proposed a Senate version of the "AI Oversight Act."

Senior Republican Senator Kevin Cramer received a $1000 political donation from AnthroPAC in July. Now, he is publicly calling for Huang to resign as CEO of NVIDIA.

Overlapping Funding Networks and Governance Layers

In the current political cycle, Anthropic operates two major funding vehicles: one is the AnthroPAC that directly funds campaign activities; the other is the $40 million injected into Public First Action and associated super PACs, with Amodei himself adding $1 million.

This action organization continues to run ads supporting lawmakers of the chip export control bill, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast. Mast not only accepted donations from AnthroPAC but is also one of the leaders of the November 4 letter demanding accountability from Huang.

At the governance level, Richard Fontaine, CEO of the New America Security Center, has served as a long-term trustee of Anthropic since June 2025, which controls the nomination rights for the majority of board seats. The think tank's research framework against chip smuggling precisely forms the basis for the current accountability efforts against NVIDIA.

Capital Time Window Behind Continuous Coincidences

The journalist revealing the spy narrative has a long-term source who is a competitor's founder; the media amplifying emotional relationships recently received exclusive endorsement from the rival; the person igniting controversy on social networks was a former subordinate of a rival executive; and the lawmakers demanding resignation have received political donations from the competitor.

What is even more thought-provoking is the formal clarification from Singapore. In response to previous rumors about an investigation into Alice Huang, the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs issued a formal written statement on October 31, firmly denying that such an investigation had ever been conducted. However, mainstream global media curiously remained silent on this.

In the absence of substantial evidence, the spy narrative gradually becomes untenable, and public opinion is quickly redirected to personal moral issues. All of this intense public opinion pressure coincidentally occurs at a sensitive juncture when NVIDIA's market value is fluctuating sharply, and Anthropic is about to launch a historic IPO with an estimated valuation of about $61 billion.

A Luxurious Lobbying Team Spanning Two Administrations

While advancing capital market and policy demands, Anthropic has assembled a Washington think tank matrix spanning core functional departments of two U.S. administrations:

• From the Biden administration: Tarun Chhabra serves as national security policy director, previously the technology and national security coordinator at the National Security Council;

• Ben Buchanan currently works at Anthropic, previously a White House AI advisor and core architect of chip proliferation rules;

• Elizabeth Kelly currently works at Anthropic, previously the director of the U.S. Institute for AI Safety;

• Joel Meyer is responsible for federal civilian public sector business, previously a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security and established its first AI working group;

• Benjamin Della Rocca and Kristine Lee, both previously served on the National Security Council staff.

• From the Trump administration: Chris Liddell serves as a board member, previously the White House deputy chief of staff;

• Sihao Huang serves as the strategic director of frontier computing, previously a senior advisor on AI at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy;

• Sarah Heck serves as policy director, previously worked at the National Security Council;

• Mary Croghan is responsible for policy business in Washington, D.C., previously worked at the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs.