Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang has stepped down following reports of alleged extramarital relationships, including one involving a suspected Chinese intelligence asset, triggering uncertainty at the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence chipmaker.
The company announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress would take over as interim chief executive officer following Huang’s departure.
The leadership change comes after Nvidia’s board convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss Huang’s future, amid growing scrutiny over his personal relationships and possible exposure to foreign intelligence operations.
According to a source familiar with the discussions, the White House was also aware of the board meeting.
Nvidia shares fell nearly nine per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday following reports of the meeting, adding to losses that had already wiped nearly US$500 billion off the company’s market value earlier in the week.
Huang, 63, co-founded Nvidia in the early 1990s and led the company through its transformation into a global technology powerhouse, driven largely by unprecedented demand for chips used in artificial intelligence development.
His departure follows a report by The New York Times, which cited five people who had worked at Nvidia, alleging that he had an extramarital relationship with a married healthcare executive who reported directly to him.
The alleged relationship has raised questions about potential violations of Nvidia’s internal code of conduct.
The report came days after revelations that US intelligence officials had raised concerns about another alleged relationship between Huang and Alice Huang, a business executive suspected of having links to China’s intelligence service.
According to reports by The New York Times and the Financial Times, Secretary of State Marco Rubio circulated a memo to Trump administration officials outlining intelligence suggesting that Huang was romantically involved with an executive believed to be an asset of China’s Ministry of State Security.
Alice Huang held a senior position at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that purchased advanced Nvidia chips. The company and related businesses are reportedly under US criminal investigation over allegations that American-made semiconductor chips were smuggled into China.
However, the precise nature of Alice Huang’s alleged relationship with Chinese intelligence remains unclear. A former US national security official suggested she may not have been a career intelligence operative but could have been recruited to share information because of her access to the Nvidia founder.
Nvidia’s board had earlier announced an investigation into whether Huang was targeted as part of a foreign intelligence operation. On Tuesday, the company confirmed that it had engaged a former acting US attorney and his law firm to conduct an independent investigation.
Huang subsequently apologised to employees in an internal memo, acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife and that his actions had hurt his family.
“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” he wrote.
The allegations have also attracted attention in Washington, with several officials calling for greater scrutiny of Nvidia and urging Huang to testify about his reported relationship with the suspected Chinese intelligence operative.
China has rejected the allegations, describing them as unsubstantiated claims intended to damage its reputation.
Huang’s exit creates uncertainty around Nvidia’s leadership at a time when its semiconductor technology remains central to the global artificial intelligence industry.
Before the latest developments, several prominent figures in technology, finance and politics had publicly defended the Nvidia founder.
US President Donald Trump described Huang as an honourable businessman who had done an exceptional job for the country, while Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire praised his contribution to American technological leadership.
Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk also expressed support for Huang, although he had earlier indicated that hiring the Nvidia founder would be an honour.
Nvidia’s board is now expected to navigate the leadership transition while the independent investigation into the allegations continues.
