Sources: despite Nvidia's 20+ years of business in China, Jensen Huang struggled to gain access to policymakers driving Beijing's chip self-sufficiency campaign (Eleanor Olcott/Financial Times)

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has stepped down from the chipmaker, leaving finance chief Colette Kress to serve as interim CEO. According to the Hindustan Times - World News, Huang's exit followed revelations regarding extramarital affairs, including one involving a suspected Chinese spy. While the Nvidia board stated it is selecting a search firm for the CEO role and has not formally engaged candidates, the Hindustan Times - World News reported that the board has approached Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas as a potential successor.

The leadership change has coincided with political tension regarding technology exports. PBS NewsHour reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick of failing to prevent China from obtaining Nvidia’s most advanced chips. CBS News reports that Bessent is specifically blaming Lutnick for allowing Megaspeed—a firm once led by alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang—to circumvent U.S. restrictions by funneling Nvidia chips to China. Megaspeed denies any wrongdoing, and China has denied the spying allegations.

Regarding Huang's relationship with China, the Financial Times reported that despite Nvidia's 20-plus years of business in the country, Huang struggled to gain access to the policymakers driving Beijing's chip self-sufficiency campaign. Additionally, the Japan Times reports that Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler had expressed interest in inviting Huang to speak at a Bureau of Industry and Security event in January, though Huang ultimately fell out of the running.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Hindustan Times - World News, CBS News, PBS NewsHour, Japan Times — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.