On Thursday it emerged that Jensen Huang has stepped down as CEO of Nvidia, the company whose chips underpin the artificial intelligence boom. Huang, 63, whose fortune Forbes estimates at more than 150 billion dollars, was Nvidia's largest individual shareholder and the face of the company for more than 30 years.
The resignation followed a series of scandalous reports. The New York Times reported Huang's connection with a woman whom American officials called a Chinese spy recruited to influence Nvidia in order to make advanced chips more accessible in China. Later there were reports of another affair, with a company employee who was subordinate to Huang. He acknowledged the extramarital relationship but did not name the woman.
Against this backdrop, Nvidia's board of directors announced the start of an investigation but expressed confidence in the chief executive. Then the pressure intensified, and on Thursday Huang left. Colette Kress, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the company since 2013, has been appointed interim CEO. Before joining Nvidia she worked for three years at Cisco and 13 years at Microsoft. Nvidia also appointed a board chairman for the first time: entrepreneur and venture investor Harvey C. Jones.
Nvidia had no succession plan in the event of Huang's departure. The company said the board would consider both internal and external candidates for the permanent chief executive post.
At the opening of trading Nvidia shares plunged 14%, but then stabilized and by the close were down about 4%. Investors are assessing possible lawsuits, investigations and the resilience of a market that rests largely on a few technology giants. "Huang's departure introduces uncertainty far beyond the company," noted Asa Haiken, a senior analyst at research firm eMarketer.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers are demanding answers from Huang about his contacts with the Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang (they share a surname but are not related) and about Nvidia's security protocols. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Congress should demand explanations. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said the committee had contacted Huang's team and would subpoena him if necessary.
Singapore law enforcement authorities said on Thursday that last year they questioned Alice Huang and seized her passport as part of an investigation into the activities of Megaspeed International, where she worked. The investigation found insufficient evidence of a crime but suspected her of providing "inaccurate information" and banned her from entering the country. Megaspeed denies illegal export of chips to China and says it is ready to cooperate with US authorities.
China denies attempts to draw Jensen Huang into a spy network. As for Huang himself, his future is unclear, although Elon Musk wrote on X that he would "consider it an honor" to hire him.