Nvidia CEO steps down amid controversy over alleged links to Chinese spy

Hong Kong: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday after his extramarital affair raised national security concerns.

The company named Colette Kress as interim CEO. She is currently the executive vice-president and chief financial officer.

Huang faced growing calls to resign following reports of his affair with an alleged Chinese spy. Late on Wednesday, media reports said Huang had another extramarital affair with an Nvidia employee who reported to him.

The board of directors said on Thursday that it had also appointed its first-ever chairman, Harvey C Jones, an entrepreneur and venture investor.

Shares of Nvidia, one of the world’s largest companies, plunged 10 per cent in premarket trading on Thursday.

Nvidia’s board had met to discuss Huang’s future following revelations that he was having an affair with a former Megaspeed executive suspected of being a Chinese government agent.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Huang had also had an affair with an Nvidia executive who reported to him.

The Associated Press could not independently confirm those reports.

In its first statement since the scandal broke, Singapore-headquartered Megaspeed International said on Thursday that it takes its obligation to comply with US export control laws “extremely seriously”.

Details about Huang’s affair with the former Megaspeed executive remain unclear.

“Megaspeed is committed to working constructively and transparently with the US government,” said the statement signed by its chairman and CEO, Tan Yong Pong, who also goes by James Tan.

Nvidia has said it had “no reason to believe” that either national security or its secrets had been compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information.

The New York Times reported that the woman with whom Huang had an affair was Alice Huang, who also goes by the name Huang Le, and was a top executive at Megaspeed. The company prominently advertises its partnership with Nvidia on its website. The two are not related.

Last month, the Times reported that US intelligence agencies had discovered that Nvidia’s Huang had developed a close relationship with Alice Huang and determined that she was feeding information directly to Beijing. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that the FBI was investigating.

Megaspeed faced allegations last year that it was illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia computer chips to China, but said in December that there was “no evidence” of such exports. Singapore has also said it is investigating the allegations.

China has denied any involvement in an attempt to ensnare Huang, who heads one of the world’s most valuable companies. Nvidia has become a leader in manufacturing chips that power artificial intelligence, and Huang has lobbied Washington to loosen restrictions on sales of Nvidia chips to China. In January, he won Trump’s approval to sell its H200 chips to China.

Megaspeed said on Thursday that it had cooperated with the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which handles the enforcement of national security restrictions on technology exports, and was ready to “cooperate fully with any other relevant U.S. government authority”.

It said it had hired a US law firm to conduct a “comprehensive census” of its computer chips and verify its export controls.

“Megaspeed welcomes appropriate government scrutiny and is committed to demonstrating through concrete actions that it operates responsibly, transparently, and in accordance with applicable US laws,” it said.

Apart from questions over national security, Megaspeed’s finances have also drawn attention. Its total assets soared roughly 90-fold between late 2023 and 2024, reaching almost US$3 billion, according to Singapore corporate records.

Its revenue surged to more than US$294 million in 2024, from zero in 2023.