Nvidia's board announced on Nov. 12 that Jensen Huang has resigned, effective immediately, as president, CEO and director. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO, and board member Harvey Jones has become the company's first board chair. An internal investigation into Huang's private life and alleged ties to Chinese intelligence was under way at the time. Shares fell more than 10% at one point during trading after the announcement.
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of artificial intelligence (AI) chip company Nvidia, has stepped down. Nvidia's board announced on Nov. 12 that Huang resigned, effective immediately, as president, CEO and director. It comes 33 years after he co-founded the company in 1993. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO until a successor is chosen.
At a Glance
Board says 'no disruption to business or product plans'
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nvidia did not give a reason for the resignation. Instead, it said, "Jensen's contributions run deep," and added, "We are grateful for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry."
Harvey Jones, the newly named board chair, is a former CEO and chairman of Synopsys, a semiconductor design software company. "The board has full confidence in Kress and the management team," Jones said, adding that "company operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap will continue without disruption." Interim CEO Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 and has led its finance organization. Before that, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at companies including Cisco and Microsoft. "I will grow the company on the foundation Jensen has built over the past 33 years," Kress said.
Questions About Private Life and Alleged Ties to Chinese Intelligence
The resignation came as allegations about Huang's private life emerged one after another. U.S. media outlets reported that Huang had two extramarital relationships. One was with a woman suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence, and the other was with a company executive who reported directly to Huang. The Chinese government has denied the espionage allegations.
On Nov. 8, Nvidia said it had begun an independent investigation in connection with reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. A committee of outside directors, advised by outside legal counsel, is handling the inquiry. At the time, the company said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised, and expressed confidence in Huang and the management team. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that the board met on Nov. 11 to consider removing Huang, and the resignation was announced the next day.
Shares Plunge as AI-Related Stocks Fall Together
Nvidia shares fell more than 10% in pre-market trading right after the announcement and continued to trade down about 8% early in the regular session. Other AI-related stocks, including Intel, Marvell Technology and Micron Technology, fell about 3% in pre-market trading. Rivals AMD and Broadcom, by contrast, rose.
Huang was born in Taiwan and came to the United States at age 9. In 1993, he founded Nvidia as a graphics chip company with two colleagues, and he went on to build it into the dominant force in the AI chip market. Nvidia's market capitalization is about $4 trillion. Huang is also its fourth-largest shareholder, with a stake of about 3.6%. Nvidia is a key customer of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which supply it with high-bandwidth memory (HBM), so South Korea's chip industry is also watching the fallout from the leadership change.
Next Week's Earnings Report Is the First Test
Nvidia will report third-quarter results for fiscal 2027 as scheduled on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at about 4:20 p.m. ET, followed by an earnings call at 5 p.m. It will be the first earnings report without its founder, and the market is watching for the new leadership's message as well as its outlook for AI chip demand. The board said it will look at both internal and external candidates to find a permanent CEO.