Jensen Huang, billionaire and CEO of AI chip giant Nvidia, resigned his position on Thursday morning, the company’s board of directors announced, after reports of a second affair with a Nvidia employee days after he admitted to a relationship with another tech executive that intelligence officials believe may have been a Chinese spy.
Key Facts
Nvidia CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO in his absence until a permanent successor can be named, the board said, adding it is launching a search for his replacement that will include internal and external candidates.
The board acknowledged Huang’s “profound” contributions to Nvidia, which he co-founded more than 30 years ago, and thanked him “for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
The resignation comes after reports the board was preparing to oust Huang amid growing scrutiny over his extramarital affairs, including one with an alleged Chinese spy and an alleged second one with an Nvidia executive who reports to him.
Crucial Quote
“The secret for being CEO for this long is 1) don’t get fired and 2) don’t get bored,” Huang said in January. “I don’t know which one comes first. How long [will I remain CEO]? For as long as I deserve it.”
Big Number
10%. That’s how much Nvidia shares dropped at the opening bell Thursday morning following news of Huang’s resignation, pushing the company’s stock price 18% lower than it was five days ago.
Who Could Replace Jensen Huang?
Speculation has already begun on external and internal candidates who could replace the man synonymous with the AI boom, including Kress. Other internal names that have been floated in the media include Michael Kagan, current chief technology officer who founded supercomputer networking company Mellanox, which was acquired by Nvidia in 2020, and Jay Puri, former executive vice president of worldwide field operations who retired in July. Ian Buck, vice president of hyperscale and high-performance computing at Nvidia, has also been floated, but analysts have noted he lacks broad operational experience. Externally, The Information floated the name Lisa Su, who runs Nvidia’s most credible rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and TechCrunch brought up billionaire and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told the website Schmidt could “parachute in tomorrow and do a very good job.” Other names include Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, and Rene Haas, a former Nvidia executive who is now CEO of British semiconductor and software design company Arm. Some analysts have also floated the possibility of a co-CEO structure to fill the many roles filled by Huang, which would pair technical and operational or financial leaders.
What Has Trump Said?
President Donald Trump, who reportedly knew about Huang’s affair with the alleged spy and didn’t step in, on Thursday said he thinks former Apple CEO Tim Cook should replace Huang. “A Legend replaces a Legend!,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
Surprising Fact
Tesla and SpaceX creator Elon Musk said it would be an “honor“ to hire Huang. Musk made the comment on Wednesday in response to a post from financial blog Zerohedge that read: “Elon please hire Jensen.” He’s made several other comments in support of the embattled CEO since news of the affair broke, including tweeting “I agree” to a post from Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire who said while Huang did something “incredibly dumb,” there was likely no malicious intent and Huang remains “irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership.” He also agreed with investors online arguing against the board abruptly firing Huang and backed calls for a shareholder vote after the internal investigation concluded.
Key background
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged in an employee memo on Sunday that he had an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, an executive at computing and data center operator Megaspeed International who is suspected by U.S. intelligence of acting as an operative for Beijing. In response, Nvidia’s board retained outside counsel to lead an independent investigation into whether corporate secrets or national security were compromised. The controversy ignited intense scrutiny and led to a roughly 10% stock drop for one of the world’s biggest companies, wiping billions from Huang’s personal net worth along the way. On Wednesday, the New York Times published that Huang had also had a second affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care. The Times said it reached Huang by phone Wednesday and asked about his relationship with Powell, to which he replied, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly” before hanging up. Both Huang and Powell are married to other people.
Forbes Valuation
Huang is worth an estimated $131.7 billion as of Thursday morning as the 13th richest person in the world. On Friday, before news of his affair was confirmed, he was worth roughly $155 billion. The affair admission has sparked speculation Huang and his wife, Lori, could be headed for divorce after 41 years of marriage—and Lori could walk away with tens of billions if they do. According to Nvidia’s 2026 proxy, most of the shares attributed to Jensen are held in trusts in which both spouses are co-trustees and as a result “may be deemed to have shared Beneficial interest.” It’s unclear if the two may have signed a prenuptial and postnuptial agreement, but California is a community property state, which means any assets that were acquired during the marriage—which would include Huang’s stake in Nvidia and any income from the company—must be divided 50/50 during a divorce.
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