Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO amid affairs and spy allegations

Jensen Huang has resigned as chief executive of Nvidia after reports of extramarital affairs with an alleged Chinese spy and a company employee, ending his three-decade leadership of the world's dominant AI chipmaker.

CFO Colette Kress will lead the company on an interim basis until a full-time successor is named, according to a statement from Nvidia's board of directors.

The board's statement confirming Huang's departure made no mention of the spying scandal or the personal conduct revelations that have enveloped the company. Instead, it paid tribute to Huang's role at the company he co-founded.

"Jensen's contributions to Nvidia are profound. Nvidia is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry," the statement said.

Why the resignation matters now

Huang's exit removes one of the most senior figures in Silicon Valley at the precise moment the AI arms race between the US and China is at an apex. Nvidia engineers the advanced chips used to train AI models and powers companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic, which means the entire artificial intelligence ecosphere depends on its products.

The company is also one of the most valuable on Earth, with a market capitalisation of more than $4tn.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and built an unusual management structure around himself. Unlike many of his contemporaries at other leading tech companies, he kept dozens of direct reports, an arrangement that concentrated his control over the company.

His personal stake is enormous. Huang owns more than 870 million shares, or about 3.6% of the company, worth $145bn (£109bn) according to Bloomberg, making him the world's 13th richest person.

What triggered the collapse?

The sequence of events moved fast.

• Earlier this week, Nvidia's board appointed the leading law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a "thorough and independent" investigation into Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, who is no relation to the Nvidia boss.
• That firm had directed Jensen Huang to continue to helm Nvidia while the investigation was ongoing.
• Late on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Huang had a separate extramarital affair with a company employee named Kimberly Powell.
• The board met late on Wednesday as pressure mounted, and Huang resigned.

Powell was Nvidia's president of healthcare. She was reportedly captured on video being affectionate with Huang at a hotel during a company conference in March. Powell has been approached for comment.

Who is Alice Huang and what are the spying claims?

Alice Huang is a businesswoman and head of the Singapore-based datacentre firm Megaspeed. US intelligence services suspect her of being a Chinese asset, according to multiple reports.

The pair were seen together around the world over the past few years, dining in restaurants and attending meetings.

Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair without directly naming the suspected spy. He denies any knowledge that Alice Huang allegedly worked for the Chinese government.

Huang, who has been married to his wife, Lori, since 1985, admitted the affair in an email to employees on Sunday after days of speculation about his relationship with the Megaspeed executive. He wrote that he would cooperate with an internal investigation.

Nvidia's board of directors issued a statement the same day saying the company was launching an investigation into reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.

What has happened to Nvidia's shares?

The scandal has already cost both the company and Huang financially.

Nvidia shares slid about 7% in pre-market trading on Thursday, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the board was readying Huang's ouster. The stock is down more than 11% over the past few days as the news has unfolded.

That decline translates into a substantial paper loss for Huang personally, given his 3.6% stake in the $4tn-plus company.

Who still backs Huang?

President Donald Trump has backed Jensen Huang, saying he had done "an incredible job" and is "an honorable guy".

Big tech industry players, including Elon Musk, have also thrown their support behind Huang.

The market has been less forgiving. The share price tumble reflects investor concern over both the leadership vacuum and the unresolved question of whether a foreign intelligence operation targeted the chief executive of the company at the center of the AI supply chain.

What comes next for Nvidia?

Kress, the interim chief executive, inherits a company that remains the indispensable supplier of AI training chips to OpenAI, Anthropic and the broader industry. The Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz investigation into the relationship with Alice Huang continues, and no full-time successor has been named.

The board's next decisions — the choice of permanent chief executive and the findings of the independent probe — will determine whether Nvidia can stabilize a leadership structure that, by design, ran almost entirely through Huang himself.