Jensen Huang has resigned from NVIDIA. He co-founded the chipmaker in 1993 and led it as CEO ever since. His exit follows reports that he had an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence officials believed was a Chinese spy. The New York Times first reported the story.
Independent investigation
On Sunday, Nov. 8, NVIDIA said it had opened an independent investigation into the reports. The board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.” At that point, Huang was still CEO.
Full responsibility
The same day, Huang sent a companywide email. In it, he admitted he was unfaithful to his wife. He said his actions hurt her and their children, with no excuse for what he did. He apologized.
Huang said he took “full responsibility.” He added that he had fallen short of his duties to NVIDIA’s employees, board and shareholders. He also pledged to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Chinese intelligence asset
The reports center on a woman named Alice Huang. She was a top executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company, from March to November 2023. Megaspeed has faced accusations that it helped move NVIDIA chips into China despite U.S. export limits.
According to the Times, U.S. intelligence officials believed Alice Huang was a spy for the Chinese government.
Violation of export laws
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Department of Justice (DOJ) hasn’t reached a conclusion about whether Alice Huang is a Chinese spy. He did confirm that the DOJ is “investigating or looking at it.”
Reporters also asked Blanche about claims that NVIDIA chips were smuggled into China. He wouldn’t comment on the status of any investigation. Still, he said the DOJ has a role in looking into chips that shouldn’t be sold. Such sales “could potentially be a violation of our export laws,” he added.
Resignation
A few days later, a second story broke. On Nov. 11, the Times reported that Huang also had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s vice president of health care. Powell reported directly to Huang. NVIDIA’s stock dropped fast.
That same day, the board accepted Huang’s resignation as president, CEO and board member. NVIDIA announced it Nov. 12. In a statement, the board called his contributions “profound.” It also thanked him for his “immeasurable contributions” to the company and the industry.
What next?
CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO. She keeps her finance role in the meantime. The board says it will consider internal and external candidates for the permanent job. Harvey Jones was named board chair.
Shares slid again after the resignation news. Since the story first broke, NVIDIA has lost more than half a trillion dollars in market value. Huang has also said he will testify before Congress.
What we think
It’s been a brutal stretch for NVIDIA and for Huang. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts his fortune at an estimated $155 billion, so money isn’t his problem. His reputation and family life are another story.
For video creators, NVIDIA isn’t some distant chip giant. Its GeForce RTX cards sit inside countless editing rigs. Its NVENC encoder handles a huge share of streaming and exports. Its GPUs also speed up effects and AI features in editors like DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro. A leadership shake-up won’t change your graphics card overnight. Still, keep an eye on how the next CEO treats creator tools.
Whoever lands the job inherits a mess. Government scrutiny may not be over. Investors are rattled. The new leader will need to steady a company that sits at the center of the AI boom.
