Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has resigned following revelations that he had two extramarital affairs, plunging the chipmaker at the heart of the global AI boom into crisis.

The 63-year-old will be replaced by chief financial officer Colette Kress, who will serve as interim chief executive.

His exit comes after he admitted to having a relationship with a woman that US authorities believe was a Chinese spy. It also emerged on Wednesday that Huang had an affair with a senior Nvidia executive.

Nvidia shares were down more than 10 percent in pre-market trading, extending earlier losses after the announcement of Huang’s resignation.

Huang, who cofounded Nvidia in 1993, led it to become what was until recently the world’s most valuable company.

Huang’s departure marks a startling end to his more than 33-year tenure, during which Nvidia evolved from a small video-game chip company into the linchpin of the global AI infrastructure boom.

Huang has become one of the most recognizable figures in tech, as Nvidia’s semiconductors became integral to training and running AI systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.

Nvidia stock extended its pre-market decline after the company announced that Jensen Huang had resigned as chief executive.

Shares were down 10.2 percent in pre-market trading, a move that would wipe off more than $400 billion in market capitalization.

This story was updated on November 12 with news of Huang’s resignation.