Scandal-hit Nvidia chief resigns, plunging AI chipmaking giant into turmoil

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - NEW YORK — Jensen Huang has abruptly quit as chief executive of Nvidia after revelations of alleged extramarital affairs with an alleged Chinese spy and two company employees, in a stunning fall from grace that sent shockwaves from Silicon Valley to Capitol Hill.

He will be replaced on an interim basis by Nvidia’s chief financial officer, Colette Kress, until a full-time successor is named.

AI chipmaking giant is now under scrutiny from US lawmakers in Washington, demanding Huang answer questions over whether one of his alleged relationships was with a suspected Chinese spy.

Huang has been summoned to testify next month before a Senate committee about his alleged affair with Alice Huang.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is under scrutiny over exports of sensitive Nvidia AI chips to China, has also been summoned to appear before the Senate Banking Committee in December.

Senator Tim Scott sent letters on Thursday to Huang and Lutnick requesting their testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee.

"Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology," the South Carolina Republican posted on X.

"The American people deserve answers," he added.

Scott asked Huang to appear voluntarily on December 3, but also warned the panel could issue a subpoena to compel his testimony.

The statement from Nvidia’s board of directors confirming Huang’s departure did not mention the spying scandal and personal conduct revelations, instead paying tribute to Huang’s “profound” contributions to the company he co-founded.

“Jensen’s contributions to Nvidia are profound. 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 statement said.

It added that Huang had resigned as chief executive, president and Nvidia board member “effective immediately”.

One of the world's most valuable companies as a result of the AI boom, Nvidia has lost $550bn (£415bn) in stock market value in just five days as the scandal dominated headlines.

Kress called an emergency meeting of her executive team to discuss the company's future.

Huang's alleged conduct not only potentially crossed professional boundaries, but has made Nvidia the target of questions from US politicians who have expressed concern about national security risks.

Huang, who has been Nvidia's public face since 1993, admitted on Sunday to having been "unfaithful" to his wife after reports he had an affair with Alice Huang.

On Wednesday, he was reported to have had a second relationship, this time with an Nvidia executive.

Alice Huang worked as an executive at the Singaporean firm Megaspeed. She has been suspected of being an intelligence asset for China, according to the New York Times. China has rejected that allegation as a smear.

Nvidia officials have repeatedly declined to comment since Wednesday. A personal representative of Huang also declined to comment on Thursday.

According to US media, Huang's alleged second affair was with a long-time Nvidia executive, Kimberly Powell, who reported directly to him within the company.

Sources have told the BBC that Nvidia employees had noticed the pair were unusually close.

Huang had been widely expected to weather the storm after the first affair became public, even as Nvidia announced it had launched an investigation into whether its CEO had been "the target of a foreign intelligence effort".

Nvidia has said it has "no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised", but pledged that its independent inquiry would look at all available information.

The company's meteoric rise had been led by Jensen Huang, who became a major booster of the AI industry, which relies on Nvidia for the powerful computer chips it manufactures.

Initially those chips were designed for computer gaming.

But as AI technology evolved in the last four years into chatbots and large language models, companies building AI tools suddenly required huge numbers of the Nvidia computer chips that could process large amounts of data.

Several tech insiders that the BBC spoke with this week noted that Huang's downfall has been a major topic of conversation in San Francisco Bay area circles, an area filled with tech employees, industry executives and billionaires.

Huang has been married to Lori Huang for 40 years. Both of their children are also executives at Nvidia.