WASHINGTON — Jensen Huang has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia, following revelations of personal affairs—including one with a woman suspected by US authorities of being a Chinese intelligence operative.
Nvidia’s board confirmed the leadership change on Thursday, appointing Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive while a search for a permanent successor gets underway.
Huang, who co-founded the company and steered it to become one of the world’s most valuable corporations, has agreed to appear before US lawmakers on Capitol Hill for formal questioning regarding potential national security risks.
The scandal erupted on Sunday when Huang admitted to an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, an employee at another firm suspected of acting as a spy for Beijing. Subsequent reports by the New York Times alleged that the former chief executive also engaged in a second relationship with an internal Nvidia executive.
Justice Department investigates espionage and chip smuggling
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, US Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is actively investigating the espionage allegations, though he cautioned that officials have yet to reach formal conclusions.
“Of course the DOJ is investigating or looking at” the claims surrounding Alice Huang’s alleged ties to the Chinese government, Blanche told reporters.
The Attorney General also addressed a parallel Commerce Department inquiry into the suspected illegal smuggling of restricted, high-end Nvidia AI chips into China, noting that violations of US export control laws could trigger civil, regulatory, or criminal penalties.
Beijing has strongly rejected the allegations, dismissing the espionage claims as a “smear” and warning Washington against fabricating narratives to impose fresh technological blockades or restrict semiconductor sales to Chinese firms.
Market shock wipes $500bn off valuation
The leadership turmoil triggered severe volatility on Wall Street, erasing more than half a trillion dollars from Nvidia’s market value and pushing its total market capitalization below $4 trillion.
Nvidia shares plunged more than 13% immediately following news of Huang’s departure before recovering some ground to close down over 4% on Thursday.
Industry analysts warned that the fallout could accelerate tighter US-China technology restrictions, while urging Nvidia’s board to prioritize technical leadership in its next chief executive:
- Innovation Challenge: Technology analyst Patrick Moorhead described the upheaval as a governance and “stock shock” rather than an immediate threat to chip demand, stressing that the firm must recruit an “innovator CEO” capable of matching Huang’s pace of development.
- Succession Debate: Moorhead dismissed a suggestion by President Donald Trump that Apple CEO Tim Cook could take the helm, arguing Cook would be a poor fit for Nvidia’s engineering-driven culture.
- Tighter Export Controls: Analysts expect Washington to significantly widen trade barriers, closing remaining regulatory loopholes that permit remote cloud access to advanced AI computing for Chinese entities.
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