Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO Amid Affair and Espionage Allegations

Jensen Huang has resigned as chief executive of Nvidia and relinquished his seat on the company’s board, ending a 33-year tenure at the helm of one of the world’s most influential technology companies.

Nvidia said Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor. The board also named Harvey Jones, a former chief executive of Synopsys, as its chair.

The company did not provide a reason for Huang’s departure. His resignation followed reports about two extramarital affairs, including one involving Alice Huang, a former senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed. The source says Jensen Huang and Alice Huang are not related.

Allegations surrounding Alice Huang

Jensen Huang acknowledged an affair reportedly involving Alice Huang on Sunday. Singapore said it had barred Alice Huang, a Chinese national, from returning to the country in February after determining that she had provided investigators with inaccurate information about her role at Megaspeed.

Singapore said Alice Huang was not investigated for espionage. Separately, a US intelligence memo reportedly identified her as an alleged asset of China’s Ministry of State Security. Beijing rejected those allegations, and the available reporting does not establish whether she was a Chinese spy.

Nvidia’s board opened an investigation on Sunday into reporting that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The source does not provide the full details or findings of that probe.

The New York Times also reported a second affair involving Nvidia vice president Kimberly Powell, citing video that showed Huang being affectionate with her.

Questions over technology transfers

The allegations have emerged against the backdrop of intensifying competition between the United States and China in artificial intelligence. Huang had spent years lobbying against restrictions on sales of advanced AI chips to China and was described as an informal adviser to President Donald Trump on AI.

Reports have also alleged that the Commerce Department may have failed to act on suspicions that Megaspeed was helping reroute restricted Nvidia technology to China. That allegation has not been established. Singapore’s home ministry said it repeatedly sought information from the US Justice Department and FBI during its investigation but received “limited information or assistance.”

US lawmakers, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, called for answers about what the Trump administration knew about Huang’s ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence asset.

Market reaction and succession

Nvidia shares fell as much as 13 percent after the announcement before narrowing their decline to about 4 percent. The move has erased roughly $450 billion from the company’s value since the weekend, according to the source.

Huang, 63, remains Nvidia’s largest individual shareholder, with an approximately 3.6 percent stake according to the company’s most recent filing. He co-founded Nvidia and oversaw its transformation from a maker of processors for video-game graphics into a central supplier for artificial intelligence models following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022.

Nvidia’s board said the company’s operations and product roadmap were expected “to continue without interruption.” Kress joined Nvidia in 2013 and previously spent nearly 25 years at companies including Cisco and Microsoft.

Trump suggested Apple chief executive Tim Cook as a possible successor, writing on Truth Social: “A Legend replaces a Legend!” He also said Huang would “end up on his feet” and described him as going through a difficult period.

Huang had been married to Lori Huang for more than 40 years. Investor Dan Ives called the departure “a dark day for Nvidia and the US tech industry,” while saying the board had acted to move the company into its next chapter.