Huang Out: Nvidia boss resigns over affairs

Jensen Huang, the 63-year-old Nvidia CEO, has resigned after being implicated in two extramarital affairs, one of which involved a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. This marks an unprecedented end to Huang's 33-year tenure at the company, which has become a major player in the global AI revolution. The resignation occurred after it was revealed that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at a Singapore-based Nvidia customer with ties to Chinese intelligence.

Business connections between Alice Huang and a Russian-linked robotics firm have also been uncovered. Beijing has dismissed the espionage allegations as "baseless". The scandal intensified when it was reported that Huang had a second affair with Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, Kimberly Powell. Huang reportedly had around 60 direct reports and had previously shown skepticism towards formal succession planning.

The departure of the influential CEO leaves Nvidia facing a leadership vacuum just days before its quarterly earnings and ahead of its results on November 17, when analysts expect revenue to soar nearly 91 percent to $108.8 billion. Experts warn that Huang's departure could fundamentally alter the AI investment boom and raise concerns about Nvidia's role in financing smaller AI companies, as well as the potential impact of heightened scrutiny of chip exports on its ambitious $1 trillion revenue goals for 2028.