Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned Thursday as chief executive, president, and board member, effective immediately. The departure ended his 33-year leadership of the artificial intelligence chipmaker and triggered significant market turbulence across technology and cryptocurrency sectors.
Nvidia's board did not disclose a specific reason for the resignation. The departure followed reports of Huang's extramarital relationships, including one involving a woman suspected by US authorities of having Chinese intelligence connections. Nvidia's board had launched an independent investigation into the allegations, which remain unproven.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Harvey Jones, a longtime director and former Synopsys executive, will serve as board chairman.
Market Impact
Nvidia shares fell as much as 10% in premarket trading to approximately $156, reducing the company's implied market capitalization to roughly $3.8 trillion—nearly $2 trillion below its October peak of approximately $5.8 trillion.
The selling extended beyond Nvidia. CoreWeave, an Nvidia-backed AI infrastructure company, fell more than 13% in premarket trading, while Nebius declined about 20% amid concerns about its growth outlook.
Cryptocurrency markets also declined sharply. Bitcoin fell below $71,500, while Ethereum dropped below $1,990, reaching their lowest price values since August.
AI Financing Concerns
Analysts flagged concerns about Huang's central role in negotiating financing agreements that support the AI infrastructure expansion. Nic Puckrin, chief executive of Coin Bureau, warned that replacing Huang could undermine broader confidence in the sector's investment model and questioned whether a successor could replicate those arrangements.
The leadership transition revives scrutiny of circular financing arrangements in the AI sector, where companies fund businesses that also purchase their products and services. An October study by the Bank for International Settlements found that 55.2% of incoming investment value in AI companies between 2021 and 2025 came from other AI businesses, with 46.4% of that AI-to-AI investment involving companies that maintained commercial relationships with recipients.
Nvidia participated in such arrangements. In January, the chipmaker invested $2 billion in CoreWeave, a cloud infrastructure provider that purchases Nvidia processors, alongside an agreement to accelerate CoreWeave's AI data center development.
Huang's resignation does not alter existing Nvidia contracts, but his successor will inherit an increasingly interconnected investment network whose sustainability depends on sustained demand for AI computing. Nvidia's November 17 earnings call will give investors an opportunity to assess how the leadership transition may affect the company's approach to financing customers and infrastructure expansion.
