Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was ousted from the legendary chipmaker he founded and grew into an industry giant after days of turmoil over revelations that he had affairs with a suspected Chinese honeypot as well as a company executive.
The Silicon Valley firm announced Thursday that Huang, 63, was resigning as chief executive, president and a member of the board, effective immediately. It followed reports that the board held emergency meetings late Wednesday following news of a second extramarital affair.
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer and executive vice president, will serve as interim CEO while the board conducts a search for a permanent successor. Kress has been with the company for 13 years and will also continue to serve in her current roles during the search, which will consider both internal and external candidates.
Harvey Jones, a venture capitalist and former CEO of Synopsys, will serve as the first-ever chairman of the board. The shakeup comes less than a week out from Nvidia’s third-quarter earnings report.
Huang co-founded the chipmaking behemoth 33 years ago. He became one of the most recognizable figures of the AI boom, known for his luxury leather jackets and all-black outfits.
He had dozens of direct reports and no clear succession plan – one of the main concerns for investors, who worry the $4 trillion firm will flounder without him.
It’s a sharp U-turn from the vote of confidence that Nvidia’s board seemingly gave the billionaire on Sunday, when he initially admitted he was unfaithful to his wife of over 40 years and college sweetheart, Lori Huang.
“There is no excuse for what I did,” Huang wrote in an email to staffers at the time. He also vowed to his colleagues, partners and shareholders that he would “work to earn back your confidence.”
Huang’s position at the top of Nvidia had been precarious since the bombshell Oct. 29, New York Times report, which claimed he had developed a “close relationship” with alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang — who is of no relation.
US intelligence concluded that Alice Huang dined with the titan – but was secretly funnelling information to Beijing, according to sources briefed on classified intelligence findings.
Pictures from June 2024 showed the duo quaffing whiskey with other AI big dogs, and they enjoyed a business dinner at a Taipei restaurant with other AI suppliers the following May.
Meanwhile, Huang had cozied up to the Trump administration to ease restrictions on the sale of Nvidia chips to China.
This spring, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly oversaw the drafting of a classified memo warning top Trump officials that the Nvidia boss was in a close relationship with Huang.
Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen who was an exec at Megaspeed, a company which was the largest buyer of Nvidia chips in southeast Asia – had boasted about access to the American market.
The titan’s relationship with the Beijing honeypot is being investigated by the FBI but President Trump believes nothing criminal would be found.
Huang is facing calls to appear before Congress and explain himself. The chairs of House committees on China, foreign affairs and intelligence wrote to Huang and requested that the CEO appear for a joint, closed-door briefing Nov. 18.
“Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] access to sensitive U.S. technology and information,” Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), head of the panel on the Chinese Communist Party; and Intel chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) wrote.
They added that it is “vital that Congress determine the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk” and that Huang explains “security protocols against foreign adversary espionage and your interactions with … Alice Huang.”
That was before a bombshell New York Times report emerged claiming that Huang had an extramarital affair with Kimberly Powell, 48, Nvidia’s vice president of health care — an exec who reports to him.
Powell joined the Silicon Valley giant in 2008 to help bring its graphics-processing technology into medical imaging equipment. She rose through Nvidia’s business development ranks, becoming a senior director in 2016 before being named vice president of health care by late 2017.
The pair were acting lovey-dovey at a San Jose, Calif., hotel during the company’s annual developer conference in March, the Times reported.
A bystander filmed the encounter before being sequestered by Huang’s security team and offered a nondisclosure agreement, according to the newspaper, which said it did not view the recording.
Nvidia’s code of conduct warns employees against conflicts of interest involving personal relationships.
When the Times contacted Huang about Powell on Wednesday, he replied, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” before hanging up.
Jensen Huang sent an email to Nvidia staffers where he issued a groveling apology for his actions.
“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 said.
“Throughout my life, my family has given me love and support. They deserve my honesty and loyalty.
“Instead, I let them down and damaged the life we built together. I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it.
“To my wife and family: I love you. I know an apology cannot undo what I have done. I hope our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust.”
Around $450 billion was wiped from the company’s market value in light of the allegations.
