What does it mean for "Nvidia to know" something? Does it never count as a "corporation knowing" unless the executives are aware of it? Obviously this cannot be the standard by which companies are held accountable.
It's pretty clear what he means. He means that the managers and executives are ok with stealing code.
How many managers need to be in-the-loop with the theft before we can fairly say "the corporation knows"? As far as I'm concerned, even if no managers are aware of it, they should have been aware of it (it's their job to know what their reports are doing) so the corporation should be liable for the theft. Otherwise it's trivial for everybody to play dumb and turn a blind eye to what's going on.
The magic number is 1 manager.
Yea "they were too big to know something illegal was going on" is a narrative that benefits these large companies while ensuring any individuals or small companies that do the same see the full force of the law.