Nvidia Mired in Uncertainty as Jensen Huang Quits Over Affairs
Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia chief executive on Thursday after two reports of affairs, one with a businesswoman alleged to be a Chinese spy. The exit leaves the world's second most valuable company and nervous global markets facing questions about leadership.
Jensen Huang, the 63-year-old founder of Nvidia, resigned as chief executive on Thursday after back-to-back reports of two affairs, leaving the company mired in uncertainty.
The fallout reaches well beyond one executive's reputation. Nvidia dominates the market for the microchips that power artificial intelligence, and it sits at the center of the AI race between the US and China.
Huang's exit lands on global stock markets that were already knocked off balance in recent weeks.
The first report described a relationship with a businesswoman alleged to be a Chinese spy. That news ricocheted around the world and raised eyebrows among investors. On Wednesday, reports followed that Huang had also had an affair with an Nvidia colleague.
Nvidia is still valued at nearly £3.02 trillion despite the turmoil. It is the world's second most valuable company. Its customers include Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, SpaceX, Tesla, OpenAI and Anthropic, all spending heavily on its products.
Huang has long cultivated the image of a family man. He has been married to Lori Mills since 1985. The two met at college and were lab partners. They have two children, Madison and Spencer, who both hold senior roles at Nvidia.
He is also known as a workaholic and a demanding manager. His personal reputation has fallen quickly this week, undone by romantic entanglements that raise doubts about his focus and judgment.
Born in Taiwan in 1963, Huang moved with his family to the US west coast at age nine. He earned an electrical engineering degree from Oregon State University and a master's degree in the same field from Stanford University. He founded Nvidia eight years after his wedding.
The company began as a supplier of chips and circuits for gaming before moving into the processors that now drive AI. Huang has called AI a "new industrial revolution" on par with the arrival of electricity.
His political access was unrivaled. US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping both courted him. At a recent AI summit at the White House, Huang was picked from a group of 42 to stand beside the president, alongside Elon Musk.
Admirers have dubbed him the "Taylor Swift of tech". Bloomberg's Billionaires Index estimates his fortune at $145 billion.
Stephen Witt, author of the Huang biography Thinking Machine, described the executive's stature in blunt terms. "Jensen Huang is a tech visionary of the likes of Steve Jobs," Witt said.
