Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned after 33 years following a major scandal involving secret affairs and allegations linking one woman to Chinese intelligence.
Jensen Huang, the co-founder and longtime Chief Executive Officer of American technology giant Nvidia, has officially resigned from his leadership role after 33 years at the top.
The shocking departure was announced by Nvidia’s board of directors on Thursday, November 12, 2026, following a massive public scandal involving two alleged secret affairs, including a romantic relationship with a woman suspected by American intelligence officials of working as a spy for China.
The crisis began after media reports revealed that Huang, who has been married since 1985, had been involved in a secret relationship with Alice Huang, a former senior executive at a Singapore-based data center company called Megaspeed.
United States intelligence officials had been investigating Alice Huang over concerns that she was connected to Chinese intelligence and might have used her closeness to the Nvidia boss to gain access to sensitive American artificial intelligence secrets and chip export plans.
However, the Chinese government has denied the spying allegations, and no official proof of espionage has been established publicly.
Facing intense pressure from lawmakers and investors, Huang sent an apology email to Nvidia workers admitting to being unfaithful in his marriage and promising to cooperate with company investigators.
The scandal grew even worse on Wednesday after The New York Times reported that Huang had also been involved in a second secret relationship with a senior female executive working directly under him at Nvidia.
Both Nvidia’s board and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched formal investigations into the matter.
Following Huang’s exit from both his CEO post and the company’s board of directors, Nvidia appointed its Chief Financial Officer, Colette Kress, to take over as temporary CEO while they search for a permanent replacement.
Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 after holding top finance jobs at major tech companies Microsoft and Cisco. The board also named former Synopsys boss Harvey Jones as its new chairman to help steady the company during the leadership crisis.
See Also: Veteran Stage and Screen Actor Stacy Keach Dies at 85
Reassuring customers and business partners that the chip giant will continue running smoothly despite the sudden leadership change, new board chairman Harvey Jones stated:
“The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.”
Stepping into the temporary top job to guide the multi-trillion-dollar technology company forward, interim CEO Colette Kress said:
“I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years.”
Financial markets reacted nervously to the news, with Nvidia’s share price dropping by more than 10 percent in early trading on Thursday as investors worried about the company’s future without its founding leader.
Born in Taiwan, Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and helped turn it from a small video game graphics company into the world’s leading maker of computer chips used for AI.
He still owns more than 870 million shares in the business. Despite the turmoil, German engineering giant Siemens confirmed that its major technology projects and partnership with Nvidia will continue as planned.
Both corporate investigators and US security officials are continuing their inquiries into the scandal.
Jennifer Baba is a journalist, international news correspondent, and writer at Moderncrux, where she covers artificial intelligence, fintech, emerging technologies, global politics, and international affairs. Based in Nigeria, she is passionate about transforming complex global developments into clear, engaging stories that inform and inspire readers.
