Nvidia founder Jensen Huang has resigned after a spectacular sex and spying scandal involving an alleged Chinese intelligence operative and a second woman working for his own company.
The 63-year-old billionaire, who turned Nvidia from a graphics chip outfit into the world’s AI powerhouse, has stepped down as chief executive, president and board member with immediate effect. The company confirmed his departure on Thursday, ending 33 years of leadership in circumstances that would embarrass the average soap opera scriptwriter.
Nvidia has handed the keys to chief financial officer Colette Kress, who will serve as interim chief executive while the board searches for someone capable of running the company without accidentally becoming the subject of an international espionage investigation.
The trouble began with revelations that Huang had developed a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman linked to Singapore-based Megaspeed International. US intelligence officials suspect Beijing recruited her to obtain information from the Nvidia boss and influence Washington’s restrictions on selling advanced AI chips to China.
Alice Huang, who is no relation to Jensen despite sharing his surname, has been identified in American media reports as a suspected intelligence asset. China has denied the allegations, and no public proof shows that Nvidia’s secrets were passed to Beijing.
The story became considerably more entertaining for everyone except Huang, his wife and Nvidia shareholders when he admitted on Sunday that he had been unfaithful. In a statement to employees, Huang said: “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did.”
He promised to cooperate with an independent investigation and insisted that protecting American national security remained a priority. Nvidia’s board initially declared its confidence in him, suggesting that the company’s directors believed their highly valuable chief executive could survive having his private life turned into an intelligence briefing.
Unfortunately for Huang, the scandal had another chapter. The New York Times subsequently reported that he had a second extramarital relationship with Nvidia vice president of healthcare Kimberly Powell, an executive who reported to him.
According to the newspaper, the pair were spotted behaving affectionately at an Nvidia conference in March 2026. A witness allegedly recorded the encounter on a mobile phone and was confronted by Huang’s security team, who presented the witness with a non-disclosure agreement. Whether anyone signed it remains unclear.
After apparently surviving one scandal involving a suspected Chinese spy, Huang suddenly faced allegations that he had been conducting another affair much closer to the office. Nvidia’s directors, who had expressed confidence in their boss only days earlier, met on Wednesday to consider his future.
Meanwhile, American politicians were becoming interested in how the man controlling some of the world’s most strategically important technology had allegedly become romantically involved with someone suspected of working for Beijing.
Huang had spent considerable time lobbying Washington to loosen restrictions on Nvidia chip sales to China. Those efforts were already controversial because American officials fear that powerful AI processors could strengthen Beijing’s military and intelligence capabilities. A suspected Chinese operative cultivating a relationship with the industry’s most influential salesman was hardly going to improve matters.
One of the signs of Huang’s doom came when both President Donald Trump and Elon Musk defended Huang. Trump described him as an honourable man and accepted his explanation that he had no idea the woman was suspected of spying. The White House had developed close ties with Nvidia, which donated $25 million towards Trump’s ballroom project. Musk said he would have no problem with hiring Huang.
The affair consequently threatened to become a political embarrassment for the administration. Congressional investigators have demanded answers about Huang’s relationships and Nvidia’s dealings with China, while questions have emerged about what American officials knew and when.
Nvidia’s board hired former acting US attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the affair and its potential national security implications. The FBI is examining the espionage allegations, although Nvidia insists it has no reason to believe it compromised company secrets or national security.
Investors were considerably less forgiving than Trump’s initial comments suggested. Nvidia shares plunged about 10 per cent in Thursday’s premarket trading, after days of losses that had already wiped hundreds of billions of dollars from the company’s valuation.
The scandal has dragged Megaspeed into the spotlight. The Singapore-based business has faced allegations of possibly diverting advanced Nvidia chips to China, which it denies. Its assets expanded dramatically in 2024 to almost $3 billion, while revenue climbed to more than $294 million.
Megaspeed has promised to cooperate with American authorities and hired a US law firm to examine its chip inventory and compliance with export controls. Singaporean authorities are investigating allegations concerning illicit chip shipments.
For Nvidia, Huang’s departure removes the man most closely associated with its extraordinary rise during the AI boom. His trademark leather jacket, carefully cultivated celebrity status and access to world leaders made him considerably more recognisable than the average semiconductor executive.
Nvidia has appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first chairman and launched a search for a permanent chief executive. Kress, who joined the company in 2013, will retain her finance responsibilities while steering the chipmaker through the leadership crisis.
The board insists that Nvidia’s product roadmap and customer commitments will continue without interruption. The company is due to announce its third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on 17 November, when Kress will face investors without the man who has dominated Nvidia since its foundation.
