Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns Amid Scandal

The company’s CFO, Colette Kress, has been appointed interim CEO. Huang’s admission of an extramarital affair and allegations concerning Alice Huang’s alleged links to Chinese intelligence prompted the company to launch an independent investigation.

Jensen Huang’s close relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based data centre operator Megaspeed, whom US intelligence agencies reportedly suspect of being a Chinese agent, has raised national security concerns.

Reports published in The New York Times on Wednesday alleged that Huang had also been involved with another senior executive who worked for him at his own company.

In a statement, Megaspeed said it took its obligations to comply with US export control laws extremely seriously and was prepared to cooperate fully and transparently with the US government.

REACTIONS WITHIN THE COMPANY

Following the developments, shares in Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable companies, fell by 10 per cent before the stock market opened on Thursday.

The company’s management said no findings had emerged indicating that national security or Nvidia’s trade secrets had been put at risk, but added that the investigation would examine all allegations thoroughly.

TIES WITH CHINA AND EXPORT CONTROLS

Megaspeed, at the centre of the scandal, had previously faced allegations concerning shipments of advanced Nvidia chips.

The company said it was cooperating with the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and had engaged a US law firm to verify its chip inventory.

The company’s financial figures also attracted attention, with its total assets reportedly increasing approximately 90-fold from the end of 2023 to 2024, reaching $3 billion.