Nvidia, the chipmaker at the center of the artificial intelligence boom, is searching for a new leader after co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive on Thursday, November 12, following a week of reports about his personal relationships, including one with a woman U.S. intelligence officials reportedly believe was linked to Chinese intelligence.
The Santa Clara, California, company said Huang stepped down as president, CEO and director effective immediately. Chief financial officer Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO, and the board said it will consider both internal and external candidates for the permanent job.
The story in 7 points
- Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia and led it for 33 years, resigned as president, CEO and board member effective immediately on Thursday.
- Chief financial officer Colette Kress is now interim CEO and will keep her CFO duties until a permanent successor is chosen.
- Longtime director Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys chief executive, was named Nvidia’s first-ever board chair.
- The exit followed reports of Huang’s relationship with a former executive of a Singapore chip distributor whom U.S. intelligence reportedly suspected of passing information to Beijing.
- Nvidia has said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and China’s foreign ministry called the spying allegations unsubstantiated.
- Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% during Thursday trading before recovering to close down more than 4%.
- The company says its third-quarter results will still be released as scheduled on Tuesday, November 17.
The crisis began over the weekend, when Huang told employees in an email that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologized to his family and staff. At that point the board expressed confidence in him and opened an independent investigation into reports that he had been targeted by Chinese intelligence.
According to reporting first published by The New York Times, the woman involved was a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based firm that was previously accused of illegally shipping Nvidia chips to China, an accusation the company has denied. Further reports during the week described a separate relationship with an Nvidia employee, and by Wednesday the board was said to be meeting to consider his future. Nvidia did not give a reason for the departure in its announcement, but thanked Huang for his contributions.
Kress has been Nvidia’s CFO since 2013 and previously held finance roles at Texas Instruments, Microsoft and Cisco. During her tenure, Nvidia’s annual revenue grew from roughly $4 billion to more than $200 billion as demand for its AI processors surged. Board chair Jones said directors have full confidence that operations and customer commitments will continue without interruption.
Why it matters
Nvidia is one of the world’s most valuable companies, and its chips power much of the global AI industry, so a sudden leadership change is closely watched by investors, tech firms and governments. Huang had been a prominent voice against U.S. restrictions on chip sales to China, and the case lands amid intense scrutiny of how advanced Nvidia processors reach Chinese buyers. President Donald Trump praised Huang and suggested on social media that former Apple CEO Tim Cook should take over, though there is no sign Cook is interested. On Friday, Malaysia said it was investigating whether chips brought into the country by Megaspeed or an affiliate were re-exported.
What happens next: Nvidia will report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, November 17, its first test with investors under interim leadership. Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott has also sought testimony next month from Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, while the board’s CEO search continues.
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Boston Globe (AP), Nvidia announcement (SEC filing)