Jensen Huang has abruptly resigned as chief executive of the AI chip giant Nvidia. His departure follows public revelations of extramarital affairs, triggering a massive wave of instability that has rippled from Silicon Valley to Washington D.C. Bill Gates of Microsoft and Jeff Bezos of Amazon had affairs exposed in the last decade.
The company, which became a cornerstone of the global AI boom, has suffered a staggering loss of $550bn (£415bn) in stock market value over the past five days. This represents the most significant five-day decline for the firm since it went public 27 years ago. After a 470% growth over the last five years, Nvidia’s value has plummeted 31%, impacting the S&P 500 index, where it accounts for roughly 7% of total value. Nvidia officials have repeatedly declined to comment since Wednesday. Even as Nvidia announced it had launched an investigation into whether its CEO had been “the target of a foreign intelligence effort”, huang had been widely expected to weather the storm after the first affair became public. Peaking just a few weeks ago, its market value rose by more than 470% in the past five years. It is now down by 31% against a backdrop of wider uncertainty in the tech sector. Many staff have earned millions of dollars in compensation through their ability to cash out their Nvidia shares as the stock soared. Who became a major booster of the AI industry, which relies on Nvidia for the powerful computer chips it manufactures, the company’s meteoric rise had been led by Jensen Huang. Companies building AI tools suddenly required huge numbers of the Nvidia computer chips that could process large amounts of data, but as AI technology evolved in the last four years into chatbots and large language models. An area filled with tech employees, industry executives and billionaires, several tech insiders that spoke with this week noted that Huang’s downfall has been a major topic of conversation in San Francisco Bay area circles.
Huang, who has served as the public face of Nvidia since 1993, publicly admitted on Sunday to being unfaithful to his wife, Lori Huang, to whom he has been married for 40 years.
Reports emerged linking him to an affair with Alice Huang, an executive at the Singapore-based firm Megaspeed.
According to the New York Times, there are suspicions that Alice Huang may have acted as an intelligence asset for China. While the Chinese government has dismissed this as a smear, the claim has drawn significant scrutiny.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on Thursday that the Department of Justice has not reached any conclusions regarding whether Alice Huang was involved in espionage. Nevertheless, lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons, have demanded that Jensen Huang brief Congress on the matter. A Senate staffer noted that Huang could face a subpoena if he refuses to appear voluntarily. He could be subpoenaed, one Senate staff member told, if he refuses to appear voluntarily before any committee that calls him.
In a secondary development, media reports suggested a separate relationship with a long-time Nvidia executive, Kimberly Powell, who reported directly to him. Sources indicated that employees had observed the two were unusually close, creating a sense of unease within the workforce. While initial rumors of infidelity were largely ignored by staff, the inclusion of an internal colleague reportedly caused significant internal frustration.
Interim CEO Colette Kress has called an emergency executive meeting to navigate the company’s future. Nvidia has officially stated it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, though it has committed to an independent inquiry to review all available information. Employees have been instructed to refrain from speaking with the press regarding the ongoing situation. But has made Nvidia the target of questions from US politicians who have expressed concern about national security risks, his alleged conduct not only potentially crossed professional boundaries.
The company is currently searching for a permanent replacement for Huang.
His exit marks a dramatic shift for a firm that evolved from a gaming chip manufacturer into the primary supplier for the artificial intelligence industry.
As the fallout continues, the episode has become a focal point for tech industry insiders and investors concerned about the broader implications for the sector.
Both of Huang’s children, who are also executives at the company, remain under the public eye as the firm deals with the aftermath of his resignation.
