Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after affair scandal, Colette Kress named interim CEO

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned, capping a spectacular downfall for a poster boy of the artificial intelligence boom whose exit following reports of extramarital affairs now thrusts the chipmaker into an uncertain future.

After a dizzying series of headlines about Huang’s infidelity and ties to an alleged Chinese spy, his departure sets off a scramble to find a permanent replacement to lead the multitrillion-dollar colossus that grew from obscurity to a perch between Apple and Microsoft at the top of the S&P index.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. His ouster sets off a scramble to find a permanent replacement to lead Nvidia, which did not have a succession plan.AP Photo/Julia Demaree NikhinsonHuang faced growing calls to resign after his affair with a Chinese businesswoman who reportedly was also acting as a spy for Beijing. His troubles compounded late on Wednesday (US time) after media reports said Huang had another extramarital affair with an Nvidia employee who reported to him.

Nvidia said Huang’s resignation as president, chief executive and a member of the board was “effective immediately”.

The resignation sent shares of Nvidia plummeting 14 per cent at the opening bell, before stabilising. The stock was down about 4 per cent in mid-afternoon trade as investors pondered the lawsuits, investigations, likely corporate jockeying and the resilience of a market driven by the gains of a few tech giants.

“Huang’s departure introduces uncertainty well beyond the company itself,” said Asa Hiken, senior analyst for research firm eMarketer, reflecting fears of wider implications and the possibility of an AI bubble.

The ouster sets off a scramble to find a permanent replacement to lead Nvidia, which did not have a succession plan. The board will consider candidates from both inside and outside the company, Nvidia said in a statement. US President Donald Trump weighed in, saying former Apple CEO Tim Cook should take the role.

The company named Colette Kress, the executive vice president and chief financial officer, as interim chief executive. She became CFO in 2013, overseeing the company’s global finance operations. Before that, she worked for three years at Cisco and spent 13 years at Microsoft.

In a statement on Thursday, Kress said that Nvidia’s “strength has always come from its people” and that she was “committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years”.

Colette Kress has been named as Nvidia’s interim CEO.The board of directors also named its first-ever chairman, Harvey C. Jones, an entrepreneur and venture investor.

Nvidia’s board had gathered to discuss Huang’s future after revelations about his affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International suspected of being a Chinese government agent. The two are not related.

In its first statement since the scandal broke, Megaspeed said that it takes its obligation to comply with US export control laws “extremely seriously”. The company prominently touts a partnership with Nvidia on its website.

“Megaspeed is committed to working constructively and transparently with the US government,” said the statement signed by its chairman and chief executive, Tan Yong Pong, who also goes by James Tan.

Nvidia has said it had “no reason to believe” that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information.

Alice Huang with Jensen Huang in June 2024 in Taipei.Last month, The New York Times reported that US intelligence agencies discovered Nvidia’s Huang had developed a close relationship with Alice Huang – and determined she was feeding information directly to Beijing. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that the FBI was investigating.

Megaspeed faced claims last year that it was illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia computer chips into China, but in December said there was “no evidence” of such exports.

Singaporean authorities said Thursday that they questioned Alice Huang and confiscated her passport last year as part of an investigation into Megaspeed. They concluded last year that there wasn’t enough evidence that she had committed a crime but barred her from returning to the country.

China has denied that it engaged in an attempt to ensnare Huang, who heads one of the world’s most valuable companies. Nvidia has become a leader in making chips that power AI and Huang has lobbied Washington to loosen limits on sales of Nvidia chips to China. In January, he won Trump’s approval for selling to China its H200 chips.

Megaspeed said on Thursday that it has cooperated with the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which handles enforcement of national security restrictions on exports of technology, and was ready to “cooperate fully with any other relevant US government authority”.

It said it has hired a US law firm to handle a “comprehensive census” of its computer chips and to verify its export controls.

“Megaspeed welcomes appropriate government scrutiny and is committed to demonstrating through concrete actions that it operates responsibly, transparently, and in accordance with applicable US laws,” it said.

Apart from questions over national security, Megaspeed’s finances also have drawn attention. Its total assets soared roughly 90-fold from late 2023 to 2024, to almost $US3 billion, according to Singapore corporate records.

Revenue surged to over $US294 million in 2024 from none in 2023.

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