Jensen Huang has resigned as president and chief executive of Nvidia after reports of a second extramarital relationship, sending the chipmaker’s shares tumbling when the market opened today.
Nvidia’s board accepted the resignation with immediate effect. Huang has also stepped down from his seat on the board.
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer since 2013, has been appointed interim chief executive.
Kress said: “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.”
She will keep her finance role while the board searches for a permanent successor. It said it will consider internal and external candidates.
Harvey Jones has been appointed Nvidia’s first independent chair. He has served on the board since 1993, and has been managing partner of Square Wave Ventures, a private family office, since 2004, having previously been chief executive and executive chairman of Synopsys.
Huang’s resignation follows two separate reports of extramarital relationships. The first, reported in late October and early November by The New York Times, linked him to a woman that US officials said was connected to a suspected Chinese intelligence effort.
Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation into that matter on 8 November. The second relationship, reported on Wednesday, involved a subordinate at Nvidia and raised questions over compliance with the company’s code of conduct.
The chipmaker’s shares fell further in after-hours trading on Wednesday, following the second report, before opening down 10% on Thursday, according to Google Finance. That extends a decline of roughly a third from the company’s peak.
Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, said: “Jensen Huang clearly saw the writing was on the wall and has made the decision to resign as chief executive of Nvidia.”
He added it was too early to say whether Huang might keep some non-executive or ceremonial role at the business, which would depend on the outcome of the investigation and details of the allegations yet to emerge.
Barringer described Kress as “the most obvious internal candidate” to take the role permanently. However, he said there was no natural successor in place and that she would need to use the interim period to prove herself.
“This doesn’t necessarily harm Nvidia in the short term. Orders remain strong and the company has a robust earnings outlook. What this news threatens to do is harm the wider AI ecosystem in the longer term,” he said.
“Huang is hugely influential in the debates around AI regulation and has developed Nvidia into the leader in AI investment and financing. With his voice now removed from the table, and the potential for Nvidia to pivot on its strategy over time, the company may not carry the sway it once did.”
Nvidia and its neocloud partners (companies that rent out AI computing power) are likely to feel the immediate effects, he added, while competitors including AMD and Broadcom stood to benefit.
Nvidia is due to report third-quarter results for its 2027 financial year on 17 November, as previously scheduled.
Amish Patel, head of equity research at Raymond James, said these results will be an important update on AI demand, but are unlikely to remove the uncertainty around succession even if they are strong.
“Until there is greater clarity on who leads Nvidia next, we would expect the shares to remain more volatile and investors may be cautious about fully re-rating the business,” he said.
“The underlying demand for AI computers hasn’t changed overnight, but investors will understandably apply a higher degree of uncertainty to the story until there is greater clarity on leadership.”