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Report Alleges $7.5 Billion of Nvidia Chips Reached China — Through the CEO's Own Affair
The Information reports Alice Huang allegedly helped move $7.5 billion of Nvidia chips to China since 2023, as Nvidia's board probe of Jensen Huang widens.
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Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO After 33 Years — CFO Colette Kress Takes Over as Interim Chief
TL;DR — the direct answer: Jensen Huang, the co-founder who built Nvidia into the most valuable company in the world, has resigned as its chief executive, president and board member with immediate effect. The board accepted his resignation on Wednesday, 11 November, and announced it on Thursday morning. Chief financial officer Colette Kress, 59, takes over as interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor.
What happened: Nvidia disclosed the move in a Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the board had accepted Huang's resignation 'effective immediately'. The company also named Kress as interim chief executive — she keeps her jobs as chief financial officer and executive vice president — and appointed longtime director Harvey C. Jones, 73, as its first-ever chair of the board. Jones has been a director since 1993 and is a former chief executive of Synopsys. Neither the filing nor the company's press release gave a reason for Huang's departure, and the announcement carried no statement from him. The filing also disclosed no severance, separation or equity arrangements for the departing chief.
Why it's trending: Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and ran it for 33 years, turning a graphics-chip maker into the company at the centre of the artificial-intelligence boom. His exit is the biggest leadership shock the tech industry has seen in years, and it lands a week after a report alleged that $7.5 billion of Nvidia chips had reached China — a story this site covered on Wednesday. Investors reacted at once: Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% in early trading on Thursday before narrowing the loss, and the slide dragged down the wider market and the AI stocks Nvidia has invested in. The resignation also comes five days before Nvidia reports quarterly results, on Tuesday, 17 November.
Background / context: The board opened an independent investigation on 8 November, saying it was acting 'in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort'. Reporting in the days before the resignation said Huang had admitted to two extramarital affairs — one with a woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset, and a second with a direct subordinate — and that the board had met late on Wednesday night to decide his future. Nvidia has retained outside investigators to examine the allegations that Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort, but the company has not said what, if anything, was passed to Beijing, and the findings of the independent investigation have not been released.
What we know / what's unconfirmed: Confirmed: the resignation and its timing, Kress as interim chief executive, Jones as the board's first chair, the board's search for a permanent successor from internal and external candidates, and the 17 November results date. The company will report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time that day, with an earnings call at 2 p.m. Unconfirmed: the reason Huang left, what the independent investigation found, and whether anything sensitive reached a foreign government. The two affairs were reported by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, but Nvidia itself has said nothing about them — and the board's statement on the investigation predates the resignation by four days.
What happens next: Kress now speaks for Nvidia as both chief executive and chief financial officer, and her first major test is the earnings call on 17 November, where analysts will want answers about the succession, the investigation and the China chip allegations. Employees get a company meeting on 18 November. The board has given no timeline for naming a permanent chief executive, and the question hanging over the search is whether the next boss comes from inside Nvidia — where Huang's flat, founder-led structure leaves few obvious heirs — or from outside. Until the investigation's findings appear, the biggest unanswered question in the AI industry is not who runs Nvidia next, but what exactly ended the 33-year reign of its founder.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Why did Jensen Huang resign as Nvidia CEO?
A: Nvidia has not given a reason. Its filing and press release say only that the board accepted his resignation with immediate effect. Reporting before the announcement linked the exit to an independent investigation and to two extramarital affairs, one with a woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset.
Q: Who is running Nvidia now?
A: Chief financial officer Colette Kress, 59, is interim chief executive while keeping her CFO and executive vice president roles. She has been Nvidia's CFO since September 2013. Harvey C. Jones, a director since 1993, is the board's first-ever chair.
Q: How did Nvidia's shares react?
A: The shares fell as much as 14% in early trading on Thursday, 12 November, before recovering some ground to close down 4.34% at $166.19. The slide also pulled down the wider US market and AI stocks Nvidia has invested in.
Q: When does Nvidia report earnings?
A: Third-quarter fiscal 2027 results are due on Tuesday, 17 November, at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, with an earnings call at 2 p.m. It will be the new leadership's first major public test.
Q: What is the independent investigation about?
A: The board opened it on 8 November after reporting that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. Nvidia has retained outside investigators, but the findings have not been released and the company has not said whether anything was passed to Beijing.
Sources: TechCrunch — Nvidia's Jensen Huang resigns, chipmaker names CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO, Ghacks — Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO, With CFO Colette Kress Named Interim Chief Executive, and Investopedia — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns — and the Stock Plunges.
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