Jensen Huang, co-founder of the AI chip-making giant Nvidia, resigned from his position as chief executive on Thursday, 12 November 2026. His resignation follows reports of extramarital affairs, one of which was with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.
Chief financial officer Colette Kress has taken charge of the company on an interim basis. Nvidia, which Huang helped establish over three decades ago, is now seeking a permanent leader for the business.
Following Huang's resignation, Nvidia's shares opened down more than 13% in New York, resulting in a loss of over half a trillion dollars from the firm's market value. Investment firms have also downgraded their forecasts for the company.
Potential successors include internal candidates such as Colette Kress, co-founder Chris Malachowsky, and Ian Buck, who oversees Nvidia's high-performance computing business. External names like former Apple chief executive Tim Cook and Arm Holdings chief executive Rene Haas have also been suggested by experts.
Analysts note that the challenge for Nvidia is to find a leader who can combine Huang's technical understanding, strategic vision, and relationships across the global technology industry. Ray Wang, chief executive of Constellation Research, stated that many partnerships and investments were made due to trust with Jensen Huang.