Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO after affair with suspected Chinese spy

Detailed summary

Embattled Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday, marking a stunning fall from grace for the leader of a vital US computing giant that has long…

Embattled Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday, marking a stunning fall from grace for the leader of a vital US computing giant that has long helped fuel the AI boom.

Mr Huang’s departure came days after he admitted to having an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.

Nvidia's "board of directors announced today that Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately," a statement from the chip giant read.

Colette Kress, current executive vice president and chief financial officer, will serve as interim CEO, Nvidia added.

Harvey Jones, Chair of Nvidia's board of directors, said Ms Kress had helped lead Nvidia through a "period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position".

"She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing Nvidia's strategy and advancing its technology roadmap.

Though not without controversy since he co-founded Nvidia in 1993, Mr Huang sparked a crisis in early November when he admitted to having an affair with a technology executive going by the name of Alice Huang.

US officials and investigators said they believe Ms Huang to be a spy working on behalf of China, a top US rival in the tech and AI field.

To maintain its AI edge, the US implemented various export policies designed to keep some of the most powerful US-made semiconductors and computers away from potentially adversarial countries.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The National. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.