Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO after 33 years; CFO Colette Kress named interim chief
Nvidia said its co-founder stepped down as president, CEO and director with immediate effect, after days of scrutiny over reports linked to a suspected foreign intelligence operation. The board named its first-ever chair and began a search for a permanent CEO.
Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and built it into the world's most valuable chipmaker on the back of demand for artificial intelligence hardware, resigned as president, chief executive and board member on Thursday, 12 November, with immediate effect, the company said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while keeping her finance role until a permanent successor is chosen. The board appointed Harvey C. Jones, a former chief executive and executive chairman of chip-design software firm Synopsys, as its first-ever chair, and said it would consider both internal and external candidates for the top job.
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Why Huang left
Nvidia's statement did not give a reason for the departure. It came after days of scrutiny following reports that Huang had been the target of a suspected foreign intelligence operation involving a woman whom US officials reportedly suspect of working for Chinese intelligence, according to Al Jazeera and the International Business Times. The questions were sensitive because Huang had long argued for easing US curbs on chip sales to China. China has denied the espionage allegations, Al Jazeera reported.
Nvidia's independent directors had initially backed Huang and announced an investigation, and said it had no reason to believe national security had been compromised. There has been no public evidence that Huang knowingly assisted Beijing, Al Jazeera reported. A proposed shareholder class action filed this week accuses the company and Huang of concealing the matter, Onmanorama reported. Reports did not carry a statement from Huang on his resignation.
Market reaction
Nvidia shares fell about 10 per cent in early US trading on Thursday, taking its market value below $4 trillion for the first time since 2025, according to Al Jazeera. The stock had already lost close to $192 billion in value in a single session earlier in the week as the controversy unfolded.
Jones said the board had full confidence in Kress and the leadership team and expected no interruption to operations, customer commitments or the product roadmap. Nvidia said it would report its third-quarter results for fiscal 2027 as scheduled on 17 November.
Why it matters for India
Nvidia's chips power much of the AI computing being built worldwide, including data centres and AI projects in India. A leadership change at the company, coming days before its results and amid US-China tension over chip exports, will be closely watched by technology firms and investors everywhere.
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