Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after his affair raises national security concerns
- Last updated: November 12, 2026 | 18:07
Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive of Nvidia on Thursday, ending his 33-year run at the helm of the AI giant he co-founded after revelations he had two extramarital affairs, including with a woman accused of spying for China.
The company's board said Huang had stepped down as president, chief executive and board member, effective immediately.
Chief financial officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while keeping her finance role, and the board will consider internal and external candidates for a permanent replacement.
Nvidia's board, meanwhile, was reportedly meeting to discuss Huang's future after revelations that he was having an affair with a former Megaspeed executive suspected of being a Chinese government agent. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Huang also had an affair with an Nvidia executive who reported to him.
In its first statement since the scandal broke, Singapore-headquartered Megaspeed International said Thursday that it takes its obligation to comply with US export control laws "extremely seriously."
Details about Huang's affair with the former Megaspeed executive are unclear.
"Megaspeed is committed to working constructively and transparently with the US government," said the statement signed by its chairman and CEO, Tan Yong Pong, who also goes by James Tan.
Nvidia has said it had "no reason to believe" that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information.
Details about Huang's affair with the woman are unclear. The New York Times reported she was Alice Huang, who also goes by the name Huang Le, and was a top executive at Megaspeed. The company prominently touts a partnership with Nvidia on its website. The two are not related.
Last month, the Times reported that US intelligence agencies discovered Nvidia's Huang had developed a close relationship with Alice Huang - and determined she was feeding information directly to Beijing. On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the FBI was investigating.
Megaspeed faced claims last year that it was illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia computer chips into China, but in December said there was "no evidence" of such exports. Singapore has also said it is investigating such allegations.
China has denied that it engaged in an attempt to ensnare Huang, who heads one of the world's most valuable companies. Nvidia has become a leader in making chips that power AI and Huang has lobbied Washington to loosen limits on sales of Nvidia chips to China. In January, he won Trump's approval for selling to China its H200 chips.
In its statement Thursday, Megaspeed said it has cooperated with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which handles enforcement of national security restrictions on exports of technology, and was ready to "cooperate fully with any other relevant U.S. government authority."
It said it has hired a U.S. law firm to handle a "comprehensive census" of its computer chips and to verify its export controls.
Agencies