Nvidia cofounder and long-time chief executive Jensen Huang has resigned after the company’s board moved to investigate allegations about his personal relationships and ties to a woman flagged by US officials.
The board said it had opened an inquiry led by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz after reports that one of the relationships involved a woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence operative. A Financial Times article on November 6 cited US officials saying the relationship had been romantic, prompting the board to act.
According to people familiar with events, Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter confronted Huang at his home and Huang admitted to an extramarital relationship. Huang then emailed staff to acknowledge the affair, apologise to his family and pledge to cooperate with the board’s investigation.
Directors convened remotely for an extended meeting later that week and decided Huang should leave the company. The board gave him no option but to resign, ending his decades-long role leading the chip designer that became central to the global AI hardware market.
CFO Colette Kress has been named interim chief executive and moved quickly to reassure staff, promising to hold a company-wide meeting on November 18. She also said the board and management appreciated employees’ professionalism during a difficult period.
Nvidia is due to release quarterly results a day before that all-hands meeting, with Wall Street analysts expecting sales growth to be roughly near doubling year-on-year for the quarter, according to company filings and market commentary.
Internally, Huang ran an unusual management structure: about 60 executives reported directly to him and he was known for personally reviewing employees’ top priorities. Colleagues told reporters his usual intense attention to detail had flagged in recent weeks as the scandal drew attention.
The board faces the task of finding a permanent successor. Names mentioned by executives and industry observers include AMD chief executive Lisa Su and Arm Holdings boss Rene Haas, though directors have acknowledged there is no obvious one-for-one replacement for Huang’s mix of technical leadership, public profile and industry influence.
Former board chair Harvey Jones emailed staff praising Huang’s achievements, writing that “Jensen’s contributions to Nvidia are profound. Nvidia is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world.”
Huang has told associates he is focused on his family and has been highly self-critical in private. He is expected to appear before Congress in coming weeks, where lawmakers plan to ask about his relationships and whether they could have exposed company secrets or posed national security concerns.
The board’s investigation and the interim leadership transition arrive as Nvidia maintains its central role supplying processors that power AI models, even as the company adapts to being managed more like a conventional public company after the departure of its founder.
The inquiry led by Wachtell will examine the facts the board has been presented and report back to directors as they determine any further action, including whether additional governance changes are needed at the company.
