Jensen Huang has resigned as CEO of Nvidia, effective immediately, with Colette Kress stepping in as interim leader.
Jensen Huang, the co-founder of Nvidia, has officially resigned from his positions as president and CEO, as well as from the board of directors, effective immediately, according to a statement released on November 12.
Colette Kress, the company's CFO since September 2013, will temporarily assume leadership of Nvidia until a permanent successor is appointed. The company is actively searching for candidates, both internal and external.
In a significant organizational change, Nvidia has also appointed its first-ever chairperson of the board, Harvey Jones, the former CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys.
Nvidia has expressed confidence that this leadership transition will not disrupt its operations, client commitments, or plans for new product development.
The reasons behind Huang's departure were not disclosed, but it follows the initiation of an investigation by the board regarding allegations of espionage related to Huang's connections with a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company.
Market Reaction and Elon Musk's Interest
Following the announcement of Huang's resignation, Nvidia's shares fell by 10.55% in pre-market trading, dropping to $155.40 from a previous close of $173.73.
Analysts have cautioned that Huang's exit could complicate Nvidia's long-term strategy and impact the company's substantial investments in AI infrastructure.
Amid the news of Huang's potential departure, billionaire Elon Musk expressed interest in hiring him. In response to a tweet from ZeroHedge suggesting he should bring Huang on board, Musk remarked, "It would be an honor," without specifying which of his companies might offer a position.
Megaspeed's Position and Senators' Demands
On November 12, Megaspeed announced its cooperation with U.S. authorities amid the scandal, stating that it had undergone inspections by the U.S. Department of Commerce and had hired a law firm for an independent review of its GPUs and compliance with export restrictions.
Megaspeed emphasized its commitment to working with regulators, although the results of the independent audit have not yet been made public.
Meanwhile, Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons have called on the Trump administration to preserve all documents related to Nvidia's chip exports to China. They have requested a briefing on potential national security threats and are looking into whether export restrictions were adhered to and if counterintelligence recommendations were ignored.
Notably, an independent investigation at Nvidia was launched on November 8 after reports suggested that Huang might have been targeted by Chinese intelligence due to his ties with Alice Huan, a former Megaspeed executive suspected of passing information to Beijing.
