Nvidia announced Thursday that Jensen Huang has resigned as president, CEO, and board member after 33 years with the company. The board named CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO. The resignation followed reports of extramarital affairs and concerns over a reported relationship with an Nvidia employee. Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife in a message to employees on Sunday.
Nvidia shares fell 14% at Thursday's opening bell, with more than $500 billion wiped from U.S. stocks in a single minute. The company has fallen to third on the list of most valuable companies in the world.
The board stated it had no reason to believe Nvidia's secrets or national security were compromised, and an independent investigation remains underway. The allegations about foreign intelligence have not established that Huang knowingly provided information to a foreign government.
Crypto Leaders Weigh In
Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, Binance co-founder, said "it's a mistake for Nvidia to let Jensen resign." Bitcoin entrepreneur Dan Held agreed, arguing that Huang's personal problems should be weighed against the company he built.
Erik Voorhees, founder of ShapeShift and privacy-focused AI platform Venice, questioned the evidence surrounding the security concerns and raised questions about potential impacts on open-source AI development.
Anthony Pompliano, Bitcoin investor and commentator, shifted focus to the technology itself, stating that "open-source AI is essential to the freedom of billions of people in the future."
Open-Source AI Concerns
Some developers expressed concern that Huang's departure could weaken corporate support for open-source AI development. Jun Song, an open-source AI advocate, noted that Huang had previously responded to lobbying efforts by creating the Open Secure AI Alliance, and argued that "today, we lost him."
In July, Nvidia joined Microsoft, IBM, Hugging Face, and dozens of other organizations to launch the Open Secure AI Alliance, which works on open AI security tools and standards. Nvidia also backed a letter defending open weights against broad restrictions.
Nvidia agreed in September to acquire Hugging Face, the open-source AI repository, for roughly $12.9 billion, subject to regulatory clearance, in a deal expected to close in the first half of 2027.
Tech Industry Reaction
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney called the departure "a sad day for NVIDIA, developers, America, and all humanity," praising Huang for maintaining innovation as Nvidia grew.
Perplexity AI co-founder Aravind Srinivas thanked Huang for "33 years of bold leadership" and credited his generosity toward other founders.
Some commentators argued the decision felt rushed. Financial commentator The Kobeissi Letter called the resignation "the most costly mistake of the AI Revolution," noting there was no obvious replacement and citing research on costs of ousting successful CEOs.
Government and Future Leadership
North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer had called for Huang's exit, citing concerns about blackmail risk given the security questions.
President Donald Trump has remained supportive of Huang, telling the press "He's definitely suffering" and "I think he'll be in good shape." Elon Musk responded to speculation about Huang's next role by saying hiring him "would be an honor."
Nvidia's board is searching for a permanent CEO from inside and outside the company, with Kress running the business in the interim. Nvidia's next scheduled earnings report is November 17.
