Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO, Colette Kress Named Interim

Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and ran it for 33 years, taking it from a graphics card maker to the company whose chips power most of the world's AI systems. His exit came suddenly, days after Nvidia's board opened an investigation linked to his personal conduct.

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Here is what Nvidia officially announced, what led up to it, and what it means for the company.

What Nvidia Announced

In a press release dated 12 November, also filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Nvidia's board said Huang had resigned from all three of his roles with immediate effect. The release did not give a reason.

Harvey Jones, a former chief executive and executive chairman of chip design company Synopsys, said in the release that the board has full confidence in Kress and the leadership team, and expects operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption.

Who Is Colette Kress?

Kress joined Nvidia as CFO in September 2013. Before that she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft, according to Nvidia. She will keep her CFO duties while serving as interim CEO. In her statement she credited the foundation Huang built over 33 years and said the company would keep advancing its work.

What Led to the Resignation

Nvidia's own announcement does not mention any investigation. News reports, however, link the exit to events of the previous few days:

• Engadget reported that the board had said it would investigate Huang after he admitted to an affair with a former tech executive who has been accused of being a Chinese intelligence asset. The board said at the time it had no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.
• The New York Times reported on 11 November an alleged second relationship, with an Nvidia executive who reported to Huang. These are allegations reported by the newspaper.
• Yahoo Finance, citing Bloomberg, reported that House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Brian Mast said Huang had agreed to testify before Congress.

In an earlier memo to staff, reported by CNBC and quoted by Engadget, Huang apologised for his actions and said leading the company had been the privilege of his life. He had not made a public statement on the resignation by Thursday evening.

How the Market Reacted

Nvidia's share price fell about 13% in early trading on Thursday before recovering part of the loss, according to Yahoo Finance's live coverage. Nvidia is one of the world's most valuable companies, so a move of that size affects major stock indexes and the many funds that hold its shares.

The company said its third-quarter results for fiscal 2027 will still be released on Tuesday, 17 November, as scheduled. That will be the first chance for investors to hear from the new leadership.

Why It Matters Beyond Nvidia

Nvidia's graphics processors are the main hardware used to train and run AI models, from chatbots to image tools. Large cloud companies and AI labs plan their spending around its product roadmap, and governments watch its exports closely. A leadership change at this level is followed by the whole technology industry, including startups and developers in countries like Pakistan who rent Nvidia-powered computing from cloud providers.

For more on how GPU demand is shaping tech finance, read our explainer on SpaceX's $40 billion GPU financing deal.

What Is Still Not Known

• Who will be the permanent CEO, and how long the search will take.
• The findings of the board's investigation, and whether they will be published.
• Any separation terms for Huang, which were not disclosed in the announcement.
• Whether Huang keeps any advisory role at the company.

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