Jensen Huang has resigned as chief executive of Nvidia after reports of extramarital affairs with an alleged Chinese spy and a company employee.
He will be replaced on an interim basis by Nvidia’s chief financial officer, Colette Kress, until a full-time successor is named.
The statement from Nvidia’s board of directors confirming Huang’s departure did not mention the spying scandal and personal conduct revelations that have enveloped the company, instead paying tribute to Huang’s “profound” contribution to 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.
The chipmaker’s board earlier this week appointed leading law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a “thorough and independent” investigation into the relationship with Alice Huang, who is no relation to the Nvidia boss. The firm directed Jensen Huang to continue to helm Nvidia as the investigation was ongoing.
However, late on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Huang had a separate extramarital affair with a company employee named Kimberly Powell. She was Nvidia’s president of healthcare and was reportedly captured on video being affectionate with Huang at a hotel during a company conference in March.
Powell has been approached for comment.
The report added to the pressure on Huang as the board met late on Wednesday.
Huang’s exit from the company he co-founded in 1993 removes a senior figure in Silicon Valley at a time when the AI arms race between the US and China is at an apex. Huang owns more than 870m shares, or about 3.6% of the company and is worth $145bn (£109bn), according to Bloomberg, making him the world’s 13th richest person. Unlike many of his contemporaries at other leading tech companies, Huang has dozens of direct reports, an unusual management structure that emphasises his control over the company.
The entire artificial intelligence ecosphere relies on the company, which engineers advanced chips used to train AI models and power companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic. It is also one of the most valuable companies on Earth, with a market cap of more than $4tn.
Nvidia and Huang have both taken a financial hit as the scandal unfolds: company shares slid about 7% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported Nvidia’s board was readying Huang’s ouster.
While 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. The pair were seen together around the world, dining in restaurants and attending meetings, over the past few years. Alice Huang is a businesswoman and head of the Singapore-based datacentre firm Megaspeed, who US intelligence services suspect of being a Chinese asset according to multiple reports.
Jensen Huang, who has been married to his wife, Lori, since 1985, admitted in an email to employees on Sunday after days of speculation about his relationship with the Megaspeed executive that he had an affair and that he would cooperate with an internal investigation. Nvidia’s board of directors put out a statement the same day that the company was launching an investigation regarding reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
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. However, Nvidia’s stock has tumbled with the news, and is down more than 11% in the past few days.
