Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has resigned following an investigation into allegations involving his personal relationships with an executive described as a suspected Chinese spy and one of the company’s senior employees.
The married American-Taiwanese businessman, who served as Nvidia’s president, CEO and board member since co-founding the artificial intelligence giant 30 years ago, stepped down after acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
“Jensen’s contributions to Nvidia are profound,” the company said in a statement announcing his departure.
“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 $3.87 trillion company dominates the market for advanced chips used in everything from gaming computers and data centers to artificial-intelligence chatbots and video-streaming services.
Chief financial officer Colette Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013, will serve as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor.
Huang has also agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving, according to Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The developments follow a New York Times investigation into Huang, 63, who has two children with his wife, Lori Huang, 64, and was reportedly the focus of an alleged espionage operation.
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang pictured with Alice Huang, who is not related to him and has been described as a suspected Chinese spy
Nvidia healthcare vice president Kimberly Powell has been accused of having an affair with Huang. Both were married during the period in which the alleged relationship is said to have occurred
Huang acknowledged having a relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese executive at a Singapore-based company who was allegedly recruited by the Chinese government.
Several former Nvidia employees have since alleged that the billionaire had another extramarital relationship, this time with Kimberly Powell, 48, the company’s vice president of healthcare.
If confirmed, the relationship could have breached Nvidia’s code of conduct, which instructs employees to avoid situations in which their actions conflict with the company’s interests, including through personal relationships.
The announcement triggered an immediate reaction in financial markets.
Nvidia shares fell almost 10 per cent in pre-market trading in New York on Thursday, erasing a further $420 billion from the company’s market value. The decline brought losses for the week to approximately $730 billion, or 16 per cent.
The company has lost about $2 trillion in value since reaching its peak on October 6.
Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone, called news of Huang’s departure a “bombshell”.
Jensen Huang has been married to Lori Huang for 41 years, and the couple have two children
Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife of 41 years, Lori, with whom he has two children
“It appears the board has heard enough to make what can only be described as a groundbreaking decision, one with potentially profound implications for Nvidia and the broader AI ecosystem,” he said.
Nvidia is the world’s leading producer of artificial-intelligence chips, controlling an estimated 85 to 90 per cent of the data-center GPU market, according to Bloomberg.
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit, a specialized electronic circuit designed to process and render images, three-dimensional graphics and video at high speed.
The leadership crisis comes after weeks of volatility among AI-related stocks, as investors questioned whether vast spending on data centers and other infrastructure would generate sufficient returns.
Sweeping Democratic victories in last week’s midterm elections also increased investor anxiety, amid concerns that the results could lead to tighter restrictions on data centers and slow the development of artificial intelligence.
It remains unclear when Huang began his relationship with Alice Huang, who is not related to him. Reports claim that she was openly discussing her close association with him as early as June 2024.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that, at a computer-industry trade show in Taipei that month, she demonstrated her access to Huang by asking him to join her at a bar where executives were drinking.
She reportedly told the group, “Jensen’s a great friend of mine,” before he arrived just minutes after she sent him a message.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pictured with Alice Huang at a bar in Taipei, Taiwan, in June 2024, shortly after she allegedly boasted about her access to him and invited him to join the gathering
Huang pictured with Kimberly Powell, the Nvidia executive with whom he has been accused of having an affair
The AI executive arrived in his trademark leather jacket and spent time speaking with the group. A photograph taken at the bar showed Huang and the alleged spy sitting close together.
During another visit to Taipei in May 2025, Huang was again seen with Ms Huang at a dinner, where the pair were reportedly observed kissing each other on the cheek and touching one another’s arms, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Other images that emerged after the allegations became public showed Huang and Alice Huang raising wine glasses in a toast and smiling together in photographs taken at different points during their reported relationship.
US authorities began investigating Ms Huang after her company, Megaspeed, was accused of illegally diverting Nvidia AI chips to China in breach of strict sanctions.
Authorities in Taiwan and Singapore have also examined her alleged links to Beijing’s intelligence services.
Reports of Huang’s alleged relationship with Kimberly Powell also emerged this week after five former Nvidia employees shared the claims with the New York Times.
Two of the sources alleged that Huang and Powell were filmed behaving affectionately at a hotel in San Jose, California, during an Nvidia conference in March.
Both attended Nvidia’s GTC Conference in Berlin at the end of October, although Powell was also reportedly seen around the same period wearing an engagement ring.
Colette Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013, has been named interim chief executive
Kress, Nvidia’s interim CEO, has served as the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer since joining in September 2013.
“Nvidia’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” Kress said in the statement announcing her temporary appointment.
“We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead.
“Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
