Global AI stocks sink as Nvidia CEO's exit deepens sector selloff

Detailed summary

Chipmaker finances infrastructure built around its chips - a strategy that has drawn scrutiny over circular funding and now risks weighing on the sector as its crisis deepens ...

Global AI-linked stocks fell on Thursday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned following a deepening scandal around his affairs, upending the chipmaker's leadership and posing fresh risks to a sector already reeling with funding and regulatory concerns.

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO as Nvidia looks for a permanent successor, the company said.

As the centerpiece of the AI ecosystem, the chipmaker finances infrastructure built around its chips - a strategy that has drawn scrutiny over circular funding and now risks weighing on the sector as its crisis deepens.

AI stocks have struggled after the Democrats swept the midterm elections, including in states opposed to new data centers, stoking fears that tighter regulation could slow the AI infrastructure build-out.

Nvidia's shares slid 10.3% in premarket trading and put its market value on course to drop below $4 trillion for the first time since July 2025 amid reports that the board was deciding whether to oust Huang.

Nvidia-backed neocloud firms CoreWeave dropped 13.6% after surging more than 27% in the previous session when its earnings ignited a relief rally in AI stocks.

Other neocloud stocks including IREN and Applied Digital were also trading lower. Nebius dropped 20% after the company said its 2026 revenue would come in at the low end of its previous forecast.

Nvidia has lost about $300 billion in market value since the board announced an investigation on Sunday into Huang's relationship with a businesswoman called Alice Huang, who is alleged to be a Chinese spy.

"He's the face of Nvidia and Nvidia has been front and center of the AI build-out," said Jun Bei Liu, lead portfolio manager at Ten Cap.

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