Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO amid alleged Chinese spy affair scandal

Key points

• Nvidia's board accepted Huang's resignation on 11 November, naming CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO while a permanent successor is sought.
• US officials suspect Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, with whom Huang had a relationship, is a Chinese spy; Megaspeed reportedly bought $4.8bn of Nvidia chips in two years.
• Huang agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving on 26 November, after senators and representatives opened an investigation into Nvidia's China chip sales.

Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia's chief executive after admitting an affair, in a scandal that US officials link to an alleged Chinese spy. The Nvidia board accepted the resignation on 11 November and named chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim CEO, TechCrunch reports.

US officials suspect that Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based AI infrastructure firm Megaspeed, is a spy feeding information to Beijing. She is a Chinese citizen and no relation to Jensen Huang. Megaspeed reportedly bought $4.8bn of Nvidia chips over two years and has been investigated by the US and Singapore over suspected illegal chip sharing with China.

The New York Times reported that Huang also had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia vice president who reports to him, and Reuters later alleged a third affair with an unnamed employee. Nvidia shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading on 11 November. Huang had earlier told staff he was unfaithful to his wife and apologised.

Huang has agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving on 26 November, and Harvey C. Jones, a board member since 1993, has been appointed the company's first board chair.

What to watch: Huang is due to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving on 26 November, with the closed-door briefing expected to be recorded and transcribed.

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