Nvidia CEO Huang resigns, effective immediately; CFO Kress takes over

Nvidia's founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, may be ousted from the company he built over three decades ago due to multiple extramarital affairs, causing shockwaves across global markets. The board is set to make a decision on his fate following reports of his relationship with Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, Kimberly Powell, and another affair with an executive suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence.

Since Sunday, Nvidia's market value has plummeted by $671bn (£510bn), and shares fell nearly six percent in pre-market trading on Thursday. Huang, who has been the only chief executive since the company's founding in 1993, has overseen its transformation into the AI industry leader. His potential departure has raised concerns about the future of the AI investment trade, as Nvidia accounts for about eight percent of the Nasdaq and seven percent of the S&P 500.

The absence of a publicly identified successor has exacerbated the sell-off, with investors struggling to assess Nvidia's value without its founder. Some tech stocks, particularly competitors like AMD, have benefited from the scandal. The leadership crisis coincides with Nvidia's earnings report due on November 17, as analysts grapple with the uncertainty surrounding the company's future.