Jensen Huang, co-founder and longtime chief executive of chipmaker Nvidia, has resigned from his position with immediate effect, the company’s board announced Thursday. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor.
“The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption,” board Chair Harvey Jones said in a statement.
The resignation follows mounting scrutiny over reports of two alleged extramarital affairs involving Huang, including one with a Chinese businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence officials suspect of having links to Beijing’s intelligence network.
Huang has also stepped down as Nvidia’s president and a member of its board. The board has appointed former Synopsys CEO and Nvidia director Harvey Jones as its first-ever chairman.
The announcement came a day after reports emerged that Nvidia’s board was considering removing Huang from his leadership positions. The company reportedly hired prominent U.S. law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead an independent investigation into the allegations and determine whether they have any national security implications.
READ: Jensen Huang resigns from Nvidia: Timeline of Chinese spy allegations and second affair report (November 12, 2026)
The FBI is also conducting a separate investigation.
Musk offers to hire Huang
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk publicly expressed interest in recruiting Huang while responding to a post on X by financial commentary account ZeroHedge on Wednesday.
ZeroHedge wrote, “Elon please hire Jensen,” to which Musk replied, “That would be an honor.”
Musk and Huang have maintained a professional relationship for more than a decade. Nvidia is also an important technology supplier to Musk’s businesses, with its graphics processing units (GPUs) used in AI training and computing infrastructure.
Allegations and national security concerns
The allegations emerged following reports that Alice Huang, a 63-year-old Chinese businesswoman also known as Huang Le, allegedly leveraged her connections with Nvidia’s CEO and its distributors to secure access to advanced artificial intelligence chips, particularly when exports of certain processors to China were restricted under U.S. regulations.
She reportedly worked with her husband and sister to establish a network of companies across China and Singapore to procure the chips. She also held an executive position at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company.
U.S. intelligence officials reportedly believe she was working for the Chinese government, an allegation Beijing has rejected, describing it as a campaign to “smear and malign China.”
READ: Nvidia hires top law firm to investigate Jensen Huang’s alleged ties to Chinese businesswoman (November 11, 2026)
The allegations have raised questions about whether Nvidia’s chief executive was targeted in an intelligence operation aimed at obtaining sensitive information about the company’s technology and chip supply chain.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Huang also had an alleged relationship with Kimberly Powell, a senior Nvidia executive who reported directly to him.
Huang previously addressed his personal conduct in an email to employees, acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife and family.
“My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” he wrote. He also agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
The resignation comes amid growing calls from lawmakers for Huang to step down. Those calling for his resignation include Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.; Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va.; and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.
Nvidia shares have fallen more than 13% in recent trading, wiping out billions of dollars in market value.