Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns in the wake of multiple controversies
Update: As this is by far the biggest technology story of 2026, we’ll be holding a special live episode of The Full Nerd podcast at 1PM US Eastern time, 10 AM Pacific. The recording will be available later.
The press release makes no mention of Huang’s controversies or what role he might play in the continuing company. “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 release stated.
Huang still owns more that 3% of Nvidia’s stock, valued at approximately 150 billion US dollars before trading today. Nvidia’s stock began a precipitous tumble when the initial news of Huang’s issues broke, from a high of just under $207 to a bit over $150 in pre-market trading today. It’s now gaining slightly on the news of Huang’s resignation.
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After years of breakaway success for Nvidia — the company has fueled the crypto boom and AI datacenter arms race — Huang became a celebrity unto himself. He made appearances with world leaders and created his own Jobs-esque persona, with Nvidia presentations delivered in his signature designer leather jackets. As Nvidia became the most valuable corporation on the planet by some measures, Huang’s profile rose to rival business leaders like Elon Musk and Bill Gates.
His downfall began less than two weeks ago, with a New York Times investigation revealing an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese technology executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed. This relationship called Nvidia’s business impartiality into question, with extra intrigue added by an ongoing trade war between the US and China. Megaspeed is suspected of evading US export bans of high-powered GPU technology to China. Nvidia’s board has said that it has “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised,” but external investigations are only just beginning.
Huang eventually admitted to the affair, and said he was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. Yesterday, Huang was accused of a second affair with an Nvidia executive and subordinate, Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of health care. This appears to have been too much for Nvidia’s board, despite its previous vote of confidence.
