TL;DR: Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia’s president, CEO and board member, effective immediately, in a move Nvidia’s board accepted on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 and announced on Thursday, November 12. Nvidia has not given an official reason. The resignation came days after reports that Huang had an affair with Alice Huang (no relation), a former Megaspeed executive whom U.S. intelligence reportedly suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset, and hours after The New York Times reported a second relationship with an Nvidia executive who reported directly to him. China denies the spying claims. CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO, Harvey C. Jones is Nvidia’s first-ever board chair, the board’s independent investigation is continuing, and Nvidia still reports earnings on Tuesday, November 17.
Last updated: November 15, 2026. By Veer. Facts checked against Nvidia’s CEO transition announcement (November 12, 2026), Nvidia’s Form 8-K on SEC EDGAR, Nvidia’s earnings call notice, and reporting from NBC News, Reuters, CNBC, TechCrunch, Bloomberg and Fortune (November 8–14). This is a researched news explainer, not investment advice. Allegations below are attributed to the outlets that reported them.
Why did Jensen Huang resign?
Officially, Nvidia hasn’t said. Its announcement only states that Huang “has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately,” and thanks him for his “immeasurable contributions.” CNBC and Fortune both note that the statement gave no reason.
What the public record shows is the chain of events that led to it:
- The spy allegation. The New York Times reported in October that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed, a company that bought Nvidia AI chips and that U.S. authorities have investigated over suspected chip smuggling to China. People briefed on U.S. intelligence told the Times she had been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security, according to Fortune. China’s government called the claims “purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China,” per NBC News.
- Huang’s admission. On Sunday, November 8, Huang told employees: “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.” The same day, Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation into whether he had been “the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” while still saying it had confidence in him, Reuters reported.
- The second report. On Wednesday, November 11, the Times, citing five people who worked at Nvidia, reported that Huang also had a relationship with a married executive who reported to him directly, which NBC News said “appears to run afoul of Nvidia’s code of conduct.” NBC said it had not independently verified that claim.
- The board meeting. Nvidia’s board met that Wednesday night, NBC reported, and the 8-K filing shows it accepted his resignation on November 11. Nvidia announced it the next morning.
So the short answer: Huang resigned after a week of mounting pressure over two reported extramarital relationships, one of which raised national security questions. Nvidia’s board has not said whether it asked him to go.
Timeline: how Jensen Huang’s exit unfolded
| Date (2026) | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| October | NYT reports Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang of Megaspeed; Huang tells Bloomberg his interactions with her were “completely normal and not unusual” | Reuters |
| Early November | NYT and FT report a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the intelligence | NBC News |
| November 4 | Top House Republicans ask Huang to brief Congress on “significant national security concerns” | Reuters |
| November 8 (Sun) | Huang admits being “unfaithful”; board opens an independent investigation | Reuters |
| November 10 (Tue) | Board hires a former acting U.S. attorney and his law firm to run the probe | NBC News |
| November 11 (Wed) | NYT reports a second relationship with a direct report; board meets that night and accepts Huang’s resignation | NBC News, Form 8-K |
| November 12 (Thu) | Nvidia announces the resignation; Kress named interim CEO, Jones named chair; shares fall as much as 16% before closing down 4.3% | Nvidia, NBC News |
| November 12 (Thu) | House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast says Huang will testify before Congress before Thanksgiving | CNBC |
| November 13 (Fri) | NVDA closes at $162.85, down 13% for the week; Altimeter and Atreides urge a “deliberate” CEO search | Bloomberg, CNBC |
Who is running Nvidia now?
Colette Kress is Nvidia’s interim CEO, and she keeps her job as chief financial officer at the same time. The board is searching for a permanent CEO and “will consider internal and external candidates.”
| Role | Person | Background (per Nvidia and its 8-K) |
|---|---|---|
| Interim CEO (and still EVP and CFO) | Colette M. Kress, 59 | Nvidia CFO since September 2013; nearly 25 years in finance at Cisco and Microsoft before that |
| Chair of the Board (a new role) | Harvey C. Jones, 73 | Nvidia director since 1993; managing partner of Square Wave Ventures; former CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys |
| Former CEO | Jensen Huang, 63 | Co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led it for 33 years; no longer works with Nvidia “in any capacity,” a spokesperson told NBC News |
Jones said in the announcement that the board expects “the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.” Kress told staff, in an email published by CNBC, that Nvidia will hold a company-wide meeting on November 18 at 9 a.m. PT.
Creating a chair role is a real governance change. TechCrunch notes that Huang owned only about 3.5% of Nvidia’s shares and had no super-voting rights, so unlike many founder-led tech companies, the board always had the power to replace him. Nvidia also had no publicly named successor; Huang ran a famously flat company with about 60 direct reports.
Was Jensen Huang fired?
No official source says he was fired. The 8-K says the board “accepted the resignation.” Reporting describes a fast sequence (a second report Wednesday evening, a board meeting that night, a resignation by Thursday morning), and CNBC wrote that “by early Thursday morning, Huang was out.” Whether the board pushed for it hasn’t been disclosed.
The investigation also isn’t over. Nvidia’s independent directors plan to keep investigating Huang despite his departure, NBC News reported on November 13, with a former federal prosecutor helping. When it opened the probe on November 8, the board said it had “no reason to believe” that U.S. national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.
What happened to Nvidia stock?
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) had its worst week since April 2025:
- November 12: shares fell as much as 16% after the announcement, then closed down 4.3% (NBC News).
- November 13: NVDA closed at $162.85, down 2% on the day and 13% over five trading days, erasing more than $570 billion in market value that week (Bloomberg).
- It was Nvidia’s sixth straight weekly decline, its longest losing streak since 2012, and roughly $1.7 trillion has come off its market value over that streak, pushing it below Apple (CNBC). Shares were already falling before the scandal on worries about AI spending, interest rates and the midterm election results.
The selling spread to AI infrastructure stocks. TechCrunch reported CoreWeave down about 9% and Nebius down about 16% on November 12. Analysts at D.A. Davidson cut their Nvidia price target to $200 from $300 while keeping a buy rating, and Oppenheimer warned of “a lingering share overhang.”
Does this change Nvidia GPUs, GeForce RTX or AI products?
Nothing announced so far. Nvidia’s board says the product roadmap continues “without interruption,” and no product, driver or pricing change has been tied to the leadership change. Fortune reports that Nvidia’s AI chip supply is sold out and contracted through next year, so near-term data center shipments aren’t expected to change because of who sits in the CEO chair.
The bigger questions are longer-term. Under Huang, Nvidia invested heavily across the AI industry, including stakes in OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI (Nvidia is also lined up to buy about $10 billion of stock at the midpoint price alongside Anthropic’s IPO), and Huang lobbied hard over China export rules. TechCrunch says his exit raises questions about the future of those investments, and Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg told Fortune that Nvidia risks losing Huang’s willingness to make big bets. For everyday buyers of RTX graphics cards or GPUs for running local AI models, there’s no sign of an immediate effect.
What happens next?
- November 17 (Tue): Nvidia reports third-quarter fiscal 2027 results, with the call at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET (10 p.m. GMT). It’s Kress’s first earnings call as interim CEO. Analysts expect revenue of about $108.9 billion, up 91% year over year (LSEG, via CNBC).
- November 18 (Wed): Nvidia company-wide staff meeting at 9 a.m. PT.
- Before Thanksgiving (November 26): Huang is expected to testify before Congress, likely under oath, according to Rep. Brian Mast.
- December 10: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is due to testify to the Senate Banking Committee on stopping advanced AI chips from reaching China, CNBC reported.
- Open-ended: the board’s CEO search and its independent investigation. On November 13, Altimeter Capital’s Brad Gerstner and Atreides Management’s Gavin Baker posted a letter asking the board for a “slow, measured, and deliberate process” that leaves open “the potential return of Jensen Huang” (CNBC). An online “Stand with Jensen” petition claims more than 100,000 signatures.
We cover the week’s other big AI stories in AI News This Week: Nov 9–15, 2026.
FAQ
Why did Jensen Huang resign from Nvidia?
Nvidia hasn’t given an official reason. He resigned on November 11, 2026, after reports that he had an affair with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive whom U.S. intelligence reportedly suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset, and a New York Times report that he also had a relationship with an executive who reported to him. China denies the spying allegations.
Who is the new CEO of Nvidia?
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s CFO since 2013, is interim CEO and remains CFO. The board is searching for a permanent CEO and will consider internal and external candidates. Harvey C. Jones became Nvidia’s first-ever chair of the board.
When did Jensen Huang resign?
Nvidia’s board accepted his resignation on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, according to its Form 8-K, and Nvidia announced it on Thursday, November 12. It took effect immediately, and he also left the board.
Who is Alice Huang?
Alice Huang (no relation to Jensen Huang) is a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that bought Nvidia chips and is under U.S. investigation over suspected smuggling of restricted chips to China. U.S. intelligence reportedly concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset; China calls that claim unsubstantiated.
Is Jensen Huang still at Nvidia?
No. A company spokesperson told NBC News that Huang will not work with Nvidia in any capacity. He remains Nvidia’s largest individual shareholder with about 3.5% of the company, according to TechCrunch.
What happened to Nvidia stock after Jensen Huang resigned?
Shares fell as much as 16% on November 12 before closing down 4.3%. NVDA closed at $162.85 on November 13, down 13% for the week, its worst week since April 2025 and its sixth straight weekly loss.
When is Nvidia’s next earnings report?
Tuesday, November 17, 2026, with a conference call at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) for the third quarter of fiscal 2027, which ended October 25.
Sources
- Nvidia: NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition (November 12, 2026)
- SEC EDGAR: Nvidia Form 8-K, Item 5.02 (event date November 11, 2026; resignation accepted, Kress age 59, Jones age 73)
- Nvidia Investor Relations: NVIDIA Sets Conference Call for Third-Quarter Financial Results (October 28, 2026)
- NBC News: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after reports of affair and extramarital relationships (November 12, 2026) and Nvidia’s board is still investigating Jensen Huang despite his resignation (November 13, 2026)
- Reuters: Nvidia probes whether CEO Huang was target of foreign spying as he admits affair (November 8, 2026)
- TechCrunch: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang resigns, chipmaker names CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO (November 12, 2026)
- CNBC: Kress and Jones emails to employees (November 12), Huang agrees to testify before Congress (November 12), Nvidia stock’s sixth weekly drop (November 13) and board urged to consider Huang’s return (November 14, 2026)
- Bloomberg: Nvidia Has Worst Week Since Trump Tariff Selloff as Huang Exits (November 13, 2026)
- Fortune: The downfall of Jensen Huang, AI’s $5.7 trillion man (November 14, 2026)
TrustLoud does not give investment advice. This page will be updated after Nvidia’s November 17 earnings call, Huang’s congressional testimony and any announcement of a permanent CEO.
