Breaking: Nvidia founder Jensen Huang quits as CEO

Topic:TechnologyPosted Fri 13 Nov 2026 at 1:00amFri 13 Nov 2026 at 1:00am, updated Fri 13 Nov 2026 at 1:11amFri 13 Nov 2026 at 1:11amNVIDIA founder Jensen Huang has stepped down from his role as the company's CEO. (Reuters: Evan Vucci)Jensen Huang, the co-founder of global artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, has resigned as chief executive effective immediately.The news comes days after the California-based company launched an independent investigation following Mr Huang's acknowledgement that he had an affair with a Chinese business associate.According to The New York Times, US intelligence determined that the woman — former Megaspeed managing director Alice Huang — was gathering information for China.Nvidia's board of directors held an emergency meeting that reportedly continued into the early hours of Thursday morning, local time.Following the meeting, the company released a statement saying Mr Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and as a member of the board.The company's Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent replacement is found.“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,” Ms Kress said in a statement.Jensen Huang has become the focus of an independent investigation into an affair he had with a suspected Chinese spy.The company thanked Mr Huang for his "immeasurable contributions" to not only NVIDIA but the wider industry.NVIDIA's new board chair Harvey Jones said he expected "the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption". The company and Mr Huang are also facing a proposed class action accusing them of defrauding shareholders by concealing Mr Huang's ties with Ms Huang — a Chinese citizen and former executive at the Singapore-based data centre company.US President Donald Trump earlier this week confirmed the FBI was looking into the affair, and described Mr Huang as a "very honourable man".The company has since become the top supplier of AI chips at the centre of the global AI boom and US-China technology rivalry.Mr Huang's departure could leave a leadership vacuum at the roughly $US4 trillion ($5.8 trillion) chipmaker he co-founded and built over more than three decades.Mr Huang, 63, has no obvious successor and owns about 3.6 per cent of Nvidia's stock.Asian shares fell on Thursday as investors kept a nervous eye on what action Nvidia's board would take.Nvidia stock has shed 24 per cent of its value over the past month, wiping around $US1.4 trillion ($2 trillion) off its market capitalisation.