Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO Amid National Security Scandal; CFO Colette Kress Named Interim Chief
Resignation Follows Admission of Affair with Alleged Chinese Spy
Jensen Huang has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Nvidia, the company announced Thursday, just days after he admitted to a romantic affair with an alleged Chinese spy—a disclosure that has triggered a U.S. national security crisis.
According to a regulatory filing, Nvidia's board accepted Huang's resignation on Wednesday.
Colette Kress to Serve as Interim CEO
Nvidia's current chief financial officer and executive vice president, Colette Kress, will assume the role of interim CEO until a permanent successor is appointed. Kress will continue to serve as the company's CFO during the transition.
Stock Plummets, Market Cap Loss Exceeds $300 Billion
Nvidia shares fell more than 11% in premarket trading Thursday. Since Friday, the company's stock has declined sharply, erasing more than $300 billion in market capitalization.
Implications for AI and Data Center Industries
Huang's departure carries significant implications for the AI and data center sectors, given how instrumental he—and by extension Nvidia—has been in driving the AI boom. The leadership change raises particular questions about the future of Nvidia's extensive AI investments, which have helped finance everything from startups developing new technologies to the massive data centers required to run them.
Under Huang's leadership, Nvidia leveraged its financial strength to support companies purchasing its chips—effectively helping to finance the market for its own products—while also lobbying Washington to ease potential regulations around AI and data center oversight.
The scale of Nvidia's commitments is substantial. As of the end of its second quarter, Nvidia reported $99 billion in investments and an additional $25 billion in commitments. The company also holds $36 billion in cloud service commitments—arrangements that help AI cloud operators finance the GPUs and data center equipment they purchase from Nvidia, with the chipmaker agreeing to buy compute from them and potentially earn a share of their operators' revenue.
Harvey Jones Appointed First-Ever Board Chair
Nvidia's board has appointed Harvey Jones, managing partner of Square Wave Ventures and former CEO of Synopsys, as the company's first-ever chair of the board of directors. Jones has served on Nvidia's board since 1993.
Board Statement
"Jensen's contributions to NVIDIA are profound. NVIDIA is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry," the company said in a statement.
This story is developing…
via TechCrunch