Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Steps Down After Spy Allegations

Jensen Huang is no longer the chief executive officer of Nvidia. The company’s board announced the decision on Thursday, citing the recent allegations that Huang engaged in an extramarital affair with a client who U.S. intelligence officials concluded had been recruited by China’s top spy agency.

Huang admitted to the relationship in an email to staff sent on Sunday. He stated that he would cooperate with the company’s internal investigation. The board launched that inquiry days after news reports surfaced regarding the alleged connection.

The scandal intensified over the past two weeks. The New York Times reported in late October that Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese woman at a Singapore-based firm buying Nvidia chips. Unidentified sources told the Times that U.S. intelligence officials believed she was a spy. The report also noted that senior Trump administration officials knew about the allegations some time ago.

Nvidia’s stock price fell sharply on Wednesday. This drop followed a second report from the New York Times alleging that Huang had a separate affair with an Nvidia executive who reported directly to him. China’s foreign ministry called the spying claims baseless and part of a smear campaign.

Colette Kress, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, will serve as interim CEO. The board said it would conduct a full search for a permanent replacement, considering both internal and external candidates. Nvidia remains scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday.

Huang has been at the helm for 33 years. He co-founded the company in San Jose, California, with partners. Under his leadership, Nvidia shifted from making graphics chips for computers to dominating the market for the processors used to train artificial intelligence models.

The company’s value grew from about $400 billion in late 2022 to more than $4 trillion today. That increase coincided with the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which relies on Nvidia hardware.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told NPR that the White House knowledge of the situation is disturbing. She said the matter will likely face scrutiny when Democrats take control of Congress in January.

Stephen Witt, author of a book on Nvidia, said there is no obvious replacement for Huang. He noted that it is difficult to imagine the company operating in the same way without him. Daniel Newman, CEO of the Futurum Group, agreed that the company will be different without its long-time leader.

Huang had previously downplayed succession planning. In a Bloomberg interview from mid-October, he said he hoped the next CEO would already be inside the company. His adult children, Spencer and Madison Huang, both work at Nvidia, but Huang told Bloomberg that they would have to earn the position.