Nvidia said its co-founder resigned effective immediately on November 12, and named finance chief Colette Kress interim chief executive.
Jensen Huang (the Majnun of 2026), the man who turned Nvidia into the central supplier of the artificial intelligence boom, has resigned as the company’s president, chief executive and board member, effective immediately.
The announcement came on Thursday, November 12, following days of revelations about his private relationships and an investigation into possible Chinese intelligence activity involving a senior executive at one of Nvidia’s business partners.
For a man whose black leather jacket became almost as recognisable as the company’s green logo, the end of his 33-year tenure has been extraordinary, and it has become an international news topic today.
Here’s why:
Three alleged extramarital relationships, a corporate investigation, questions about national security and a collapsing share price have combined to bring down one of the most powerful executives in technology.
The board appointed chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim CEO. Harvey C. Jones, a board member since 1993 and former Synopsys chief executive, was appointed Nvidia’s first independent board chair. The company said it would consider internal and external candidates for a permanent successor.
Harvey C. Jones said in a statement:
“Colette has helped lead Nvidia through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position.”
He added that Nvidia Board is confident about this change by saying:
“She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing Nvidia’s strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. 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.”
Colette Kress said:
” Nvidia’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years.”
She added:
“We will continue advancing the work that has made Nvidia a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
The announcement was confirmed in Nvidia’s November 12 corporate statement and its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The board said:
“Jensen’s contributions to Nvidia are profound. Nvidia is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
But there’s a lot more to this story, and the sudden resignation of the CEO of the world’s most valuable company, who became Majnun over three girls at once.
Three relationships and an intelligence investigation
The scandal began attracting national attention after reports connected Huang to Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International. The two are not related.
US intelligence agencies reportedly suspected Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, of working for Chinese intelligence and CNN reported that a classified memo issued in May identified her as a Chinese intelligence asset.
Investigators were also examining Megaspeed over allegations that the company helped move restricted American AI chips into China.
Megaspeed’s position in the semiconductor supply chain made the relationship particularly sensitive. The company was reportedly preparing to purchase about $2 billion in Nvidia technology over the following year, according to reporting cited in a November 9 investor lawsuit. The allegations surrounding chip diversion remain separate from the allegations about Huang’s personal conduct.
The Information reported that a network linked to Alice Huang facilitated buying $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips, including banned chips too.
On November 8, Huang addressed Nvidia employees and admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
“I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
The statement appeared in Nvidia’s company news archive. Huang did not identify the person involved in this.
The company’s board announced an independent investigation on the same day. It appointed outside legal counsel, including former acting US attorney Joon H. Kim and the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to examine reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.
The board said it had no reason to believe that Nvidia’s secrets or national security had been compromised, but promised to examine the available information.
A second relationship emerged in reporting by The New York Times on November 11. It involved Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, who reportedly worked directly under Huang.
The paper cited five people who worked at the company and said Powell was one of about 60 direct reports to Huang. The report said Huang and Powell were captured on video being affectionate at a hotel during a conference earlier this year.
When a Times reporter asked Huang about Powell, Huang said: “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” and ended the call.
The report added a corporate governance dimension to the scandal because of the seniority difference between the chief executive and the executive involved.
Reuters subsequently reported that Huang had also been involved with another Nvidia employee. It cited two people familiar with the matter and did not identify the employee. Nvidia, Huang and Powell did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
That brought the reported number of relationships to three. Huang’s November 8 admission confirms infidelity, but the company has not publicly confirmed the identities of the women or independently established every detail in the reports.
The third revelation arrived after the resignation announcement, making the story considerably harder for Nvidia to contain.
The boardroom fallout reaches Washington
The scandal has also exposed disagreements inside the Trump administration over American semiconductor exports to China.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the Commerce Department’s failure to place Megaspeed on the US government’s Entity List, which restricts access to sensitive American technology.
According to CNN, Bessent argued that Megaspeed should have faced restrictions because of concerns that it was helping Chinese companies obtain advanced Nvidia chips. The confrontation reportedly took place during a Situation Room meeting.
The dispute is bigger than Huang’s personal relationships. Washington has been debating how far Nvidia should be allowed to sell its technology into China, particularly as the United States tries to maintain its lead in artificial intelligence.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that Bessent publicly criticised the Commerce Department’s handling of the matter. Megaspeed has denied wrongdoing and said it takes US export-control compliance seriously.
Congress is now seeking answers directly from Huang.
Representative Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed that the former CEO had agreed to appear before lawmakers. The proposed briefing is expected before Thanksgiving and could involve the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and China committees.
Mast said the session would likely be conducted under oath, recorded and transcribed. A final date had not been announced as of November 13.
“Jensen and I have been very at odds as some of you already know on export controls, but Nvidia is a very important company to the United States of America,” Mast told reporters.
“I don’t want to see anything hurt in Nvidia, but he has some very serious questions to answer.”
The questions concern his relationship with Alice Huang, the company’s exposure to potential foreign intelligence activity and the controls governing the movement of advanced American chips.
President Donald Trump, who had previously praised Huang and presented him with the National Medal of Science, expressed regret over his departure.
“What a horrible thing that is. That’s so sad to see that happen,” Trump said during a radio interview.
Trump also suggested former Apple chief executive Tim Cook as a possible replacement for Huang, posting on Truth Social that Cook should take charge of Nvidia. The company’s board has made no announcement supporting that suggestion.
Nvidia loses hundreds of billions in market value
The financial consequences have been immediate.
Nvidia shares fell sharply when trading opened on Thursday, November 12. They opened at $151.01, compared with the previous closing price of $173.73, and touched an intraday low of $148.80.
The stock recovered much of its early decline, finishing Thursday at $166.19, down 4.34%.
The company’s market capitalisation briefly fell below $4 trillion. Bloomberg reported that the opening sell-off erased as much as $601 billion in market value. By the close, Nvidia had lost approximately $182 billion in a single session, according to figures reported by South Korea’s SBS and what I can see.
Check for yourself:
The broader decline had started weeks before Huang’s resignation. Nvidia had already fallen substantially from its October peak, with approximately $1.6 trillion in market value lost during the subsequent slide, according to a November 13 report.
Friday brought further pressure. Reuters reported that Nvidia shares were down 3.3% during morning trading, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 5%. Other semiconductor and AI infrastructure companies also declined.
The share-price figures tell two different stories: the resignation triggered an exceptionally sharp intraday shock, while the longer sell-off reflects concerns that had been building before the leadership crisis. Schwab Wall Street+3
Colette Kress inherits a complicated company
Kress now faces a challenge that extends beyond replacing Huang at shareholder meetings.
She joined Nvidia in September 2013 and previously held finance positions at Cisco and Microsoft. She has spent more than a decade overseeing Nvidia’s finances and will retain the CFO position while serving as interim CEO.
Reuters reported on Friday that Kress had previously challenged some of Huang’s more aggressive financial commitments involving AI infrastructure and major customers.
Those arrangements have become increasingly important to Nvidia’s business. The company has developed financial relationships with AI developers and data-centre operators, helping support the infrastructure needed to purchase and operate its processors.
Reuters reported that Kress and her finance team had questioned large commitments involving companies such as OpenAI and Lambda. One proposed Ohio data-centre support arrangement was reportedly reduced from $250 billion to $120 billion.
The board must now find someone capable of maintaining Nvidia’s relationships with major customers while managing the financial risks associated with the AI investment boom. Reuters
The company also has substantial exposure to the wider startup ecosystem. Its investments and partnerships have helped finance businesses building AI infrastructure and applications. A leadership transition raises questions about how aggressively Nvidia will continue pursuing those arrangements.
November 17: Kress’s first major test
Nvidia has confirmed that it will publish its third-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results on Tuesday, November 17, after the market close.
The company scheduled the results announcement and written commentary from Kress is due at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m.
It will be Kress’s first major public appearance in the interim CEO role at a time when investors are looking for answers about the company’s leadership, financial commitments and customer relationships.
The board has said it expects Nvidia’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.
But the next earnings call will take place under circumstances few investors could have anticipated a week ago. Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led it through its transformation into a multitrillion-dollar AI company, will no longer be answering questions as its chief executive.
On my side, the title of the Majnu of 2026 belongs to Jensen Huang.
