Nvidia tycoon Jensen Huang has resigned in the wake of an investigation into his affairs with an alleged Chinese spy and one of his underlings at the company.
The married American-Taiwanese businessman, who was the president, chief executive officer, and member of the board for the AI behemoth he founded 30 years ago, has stepped down after admitting to cheating on his wife.
‘Jensen’s contributions to Nvidia are profound,’ the company wrote in a press release announcing his resignation.
‘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 firm dominates the robotic chips industry, which powers everything from gaming laptops to online AI chatbots and video streaming.
Chief financial officer Colette Kress, who has worked at Nvidia since 2013, will take the reins on an interim basis as it looks to appoint a permanent successor.
Huang has also agreed to testify before Congress at some point before Thanksgiving, according to House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast.
It comes after a New York Times investigation revealed that Huang, 63, who shares two children with his wife Lori Huang, 64, had been the target of an espionage plot.
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang, who is no relation
Nvidia vice president of healthcare Kimberly Powell has been accused of having an affair with Huang. Both were married during the period they allegedly had an extramarital relationship
He confessed to having an affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese executive at a company based in Singapore, who had allegedly been recruited by the Chinese government.
Several former Nvidia employees have also since claimed that the billionaire had another extramarital relationship, this time with Kimberly Powell, 48, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare.
The alleged affair would have violated the company’s code of conduct, under which employees are told to ‘avoid situations where our actions conflict’ including ‘personal relationships’.
The news sent shockwaves through the stock market.
Nvidia shares fell nearly 10 per cent in pre-market trading in New York on Thursday, wiping another $420 billion off its value. That takes losses this week to $730 billion, or 16 per cent.
The company has shed around $2 trillion of value since its peak on October 6.
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone brokerage, described the news that Huang was stepping down as a ‘bombshell’.
Huang has been married to his wife Lori Huang for 41 years, and they share two children
Jensen Huang admitted to cheating on his wife of 41 years, Lori, with whom he shares two children
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‘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 is the global market leader for the production of AI chips, controlling an estimated 85 to 90 percent of the data center GPU market, according to Bloomberg.
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit, a specialized electronic circuit designed to rapidly process and render images, 3D graphics, and video.
The crisis at Nvidia follows weeks of turmoil for AI stocks as investors fretted over whether huge spending on infrastructure such as data centers would ever yield acceptable returns.
Democrat’s sweeping victories in the midterm elections last week also fueled anxiety amid fears it would result in a clampdown on data centers and put the brakes on the AI revolution.
It is unclear when Huang began his relationship with Alice Huang – of no familial relation to him – but reports allege that she would openly boast about how close she was to him as far back as June 2024.
At a computer industry trade show in Taipei at the time, sources told the Wall Street Journal that she displayed her cozy relationship with Huang to executives by summoning him to a bar where they were drinking.
She reportedly told the group, ‘Jensen’s a great friend of mine’, and he arrived just a few minutes after she texted him to join them.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang seen with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang in a bar in Taipei, Taiwan, in June 2024, moments after she allegedly boasted of her intimate access to him and told him to join her at the event
Huang is pictured with Kimberly Powell, the employee he is accused of having an affair with
The artificial intelligence chief then showed up in his trademark leather jacket, and held court with the executives in the bar for some time as a picture was snapped of the Nvidia CEO and the alleged spy sat closely beside each other.
On another trip to Taipei in May 2025, Huang was again seen with Ms Huang at a dinner, where they were spotted kissing on the cheek and sharing touches on the arm, per the Wall Street Journal.
In other images that have been unearthed following the scandal, the Nvidia CEO and alleged Chinese spy were seen raising wine glasses in a toast and sharing a smiling picture sat next to each other at other points during their relationship.
US authorities launched an investigation into Ms Huang shortly after, after her company Megaspeed was accused of illegally diverting Nvidia’s AI chips to China by subverting strict sanctions.
Authorities in Taiwan and Singapore have also investigated Ms Huang’s alleged ties to Beijing’s intelligence services.
The news of his second affair with Kimberly Powell also came to light this week, after five former Nvidia employees disclosed the information to the New York Times.
The two were reportedly captured on video being affectionate at a hotel in San Jose, California, during a Nvidia conference in March, two of the sources said.
They were then both in attendance at the Nvidia GTC Conference in Berlin at the end of October, though Powell was also seen around the same time flaunting her engagement ring.
Colette Kress, who has been with Nvidia since 2013, has been appointed as interim CEO
The interim Nvidia CEO, Colette Kress, has served as the 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 press release 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.’
