Nvidia founder Jensen Huang has stepped down after an investigation examined alleged affairs involving a suspected Chinese intelligence operative and a senior employee at the chipmaker.
The 63-year-old American-Taiwanese businessman, who had served as Nvidia’s president, chief executive and board member since founding the company three decades ago, resigned 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 is a dominant force in the market for advanced chips used in everything from gaming computers and data centers to AI chatbots and video-streaming services.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013, will serve as interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor.
The announcement followed a New York Times investigation into Huang, who has two children with his wife, Lori Huang, 64, and was reportedly the focus of an alleged espionage operation.
Huang acknowledged having a relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese executive at a Singapore-based company who was allegedly recruited by the Chinese government. The two are not related.
Nvidia founder Jensen Huang pictured with Alice Huang, who is suspected of links to Chinese intelligence and is not related to him
Nvidia healthcare vice president Kimberly Powell has also been accused of having an affair with Huang. Both were married at the time of the alleged relationship
Several former Nvidia employees have since alleged that Huang 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 report triggered an immediate reaction across financial markets.
Nvidia shares dropped almost 10 percent in pre-market trading in New York on Thursday, erasing roughly $420 billion from the company’s market value. The decline brought the week’s losses to about $730 billion, or 16 percent.
Since reaching its peak on October 6, Nvidia has lost approximately $2 trillion in market value.
Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone, called Huang’s reported departure a “bombshell.”
“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 remains the world’s leading producer of artificial-intelligence chips, accounting for an estimated 85 to 90 percent of the global data-center GPU market, according to Bloomberg.
A GPU, or graphics processing unit, is a specialized electronic circuit designed to process images, three-dimensional graphics and video at high speed.
Huang, 63, has two children with his wife, Lori Huang, 64. The couple is pictured above
Jensen Huang has admitted to being unfaithful to Lori, his wife of 41 years, with whom he has two children
The leadership crisis comes after weeks of pressure on AI-related stocks, as investors questioned whether the sector’s enormous spending on data centers and other infrastructure would produce sufficient returns.
Democratic victories in last week’s midterm elections added to those concerns, with investors worried that new political pressure could restrict data-center development and slow the expansion of artificial intelligence.
It is not known when Huang began his relationship with Alice Huang. However, reports say she openly discussed her close connection to him as early as June 2024.
At a computer-industry trade show in Taipei that month, sources told the Wall Street Journal that Alice Huang highlighted her access to the Nvidia chief by asking him to join executives at a bar where they were drinking.
She reportedly told those present, “Jensen’s a great friend of mine,” before he arrived only minutes after she sent him a message inviting him to join the group.
Huang arrived wearing his trademark leather jacket and spent time speaking with the executives. A photograph taken at the venue showed him sitting close to Alice Huang, according to reports.
During another visit to Taipei in May 2025, the pair were reportedly seen together at dinner. The Wall Street Journal said they kissed each other on the cheek and touched one another’s arms.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pictured with Alice Huang at a bar in Taipei, Taiwan, in June 2024, shortly after she allegedly described him as a close friend and invited him to join the gathering
Huang is pictured with Kimberly Powell, the Nvidia executive he has been accused of having an affair with
Other images that emerged after the allegations became public appear to show Huang and Alice Huang toasting with wine and posing together at different points during their reported relationship.
US authorities began investigating Alice Huang after her company, Megaspeed, was accused of illegally diverting Nvidia AI chips to China in violation of export restrictions.
Authorities in Taiwan and Singapore have also examined her alleged connections to Chinese intelligence services.
Details of the alleged relationship between Huang and Kimberly Powell emerged this week after five former Nvidia employees shared information with the New York Times.
Two of the sources said the pair had been recorded behaving affectionately at a hotel in San Jose, California, during an Nvidia conference in March.
Huang and Powell both attended Nvidia’s GTC conference in Berlin in late October. Around the same time, Powell was reportedly seen wearing an engagement ring.
Colette Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013, has been named interim chief executive
Kress has served as Nvidia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer since joining the company 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.”