- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned following controversy over ties to a businesswoman suspected of links to Chinese intelligence and export control violations.
- CFO Colette Kress replaces Huang as interim CEO, tasked with restoring investor confidence as the company's stock fell sharply after the announcement.
- Investigations focus on whether restricted AI processors were diverted to China, despite Nvidia finding no evidence of compromised national security or secrets.
- U.S. lawmakers are demanding increased oversight of Nvidia’s supply chain to ensure advanced chips remain out of unauthorized hands.
NEW YORK: Jensen Huang, co-founder and longtime chief executive of Nvidia, stepped down Thursday following an escalating controversy over his personal and business ties to a businesswoman suspected by U.S. authorities of having links to Chinese intelligence.
Nvidia’s board of directors announced Huang’s immediate departure and named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement. The shakeup removes the architect of Nvidia’s rise from a gaming-graphics pioneer into the dominant supplier of artificial intelligence hardware, sending the company’s stock tumbling in Thursday’s trading.
At the center of the uproar is Alice Huang, an executive tied to Singapore-based Megaspeed International. U.S. officials have investigated whether Megaspeed and related intermediaries helped divert restricted Nvidia AI processors to Chinese buyers in violation of federal export controls.
While U.S. intelligence officials reportedly suspect Alice Huang of ties to Chinese intelligence, no public judicial finding has confirmed espionage, and Beijing has rejected the allegations. A separate investigation by Singaporean authorities found insufficient evidence to prosecute her for espionage, though she was barred from re-entering Singapore and issued a warning over inaccurate corporate disclosures. Megaspeed has denied violating U.S. export rules and said it is cooperating with investigators.
Prior to the resignation, Nvidia’s board launched an independent probe into whether Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, stating it had found no evidence that company secrets or U.S. national security were compromised.
Still, the episode has drawn sharp scrutiny in Washington. Lawmakers are demanding answers not only about Nvidia’s internal safeguards and supply-chain oversight, but also about whether the Commerce Department and other federal agencies are effectively enforcing chip restrictions across complex global networks.
For Kress, who has served as CFO since 2013, the immediate challenge is steadying investor confidence and fending off rising competition from rivals like AMD and Broadcom while proving Nvidia can keep its most advanced chips out of unauthorized hands.
