Breaking: Nvidia founder Jensen Huang to stand down as CEO

Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang is relinquishing his position as CEO after admitting to an affair with a Chinese business associate. The revelation prompted an independent investigation by the California-based firm following Huang's disclosure. According to The New York Times, US intelligence determined that the woman in question, former Megaspeed managing director Alice Huang, was gathering information for China.

Nvidia's board of directors convened an emergency meeting, which reportedly extended into the early hours of Thursday morning. The company and Huang are also facing a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges they defrauded shareholders by concealing Huang's relationship with Huang, a Chinese citizen and former executive at a Singapore-based data center company.

US President Donald Trump recently confirmed the FBI is probing the affair and referred to Huang as a "very honourable man." Nvidia has become the leading supplier of AI chips in the midst of the global AI boom and the US-China technology rivalry. Huang's departure could create a leadership vacuum at the roughly $4 trillion chipmaker he co-founded and built over three decades.

At 63, Huang has no clear successor and owns around 3.6% of Nvidia's stock. Asian shares declined on Thursday as investors remained vigilant about the potential actions Nvidia's board might take. Nvidia's stock has lost 24% of its value over the past month, resulting in a $1.4 trillion reduction in its market capitalization.