Scandal-hit Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang quits, plunging AI chipmaking giant into turmoil

ByKali HaysTechnology reporter and Lily JamaliNorth America Technology correspondent

Jensen Huang has abruptly quit as chief executive of AI chipmaking giant Nvidia after revelations of alleged extramarital affairs, sending shockwaves from Silicon Valley to Capitol Hill.

Nvidia is now under scrutiny from US lawmakers in Washington DC demanding Huang answer questions over whether one of his alleged relationships was with a Chinese spy.

One of the world's most valuable companies as a result of the AI boom, Nvidia has lost $550bn (£415bn) in stock market value in just five days as the scandal dominated headlines.

Nvidia's interim CEO, Colette Kress, called an emergency meeting of her executive team to discuss the company's future.

His alleged conduct not only potentially crossed professional boundaries, but has made Nvidia the target of questions from US politicians who have expressed concern about national security risks.

Huang, who has been Nvidia's public face since 1993, admitted on Sunday to having been "unfaithful" to his wife after reports he had an extramarital affair with a suspected Chinese spy, Alice Huang (no relation).

On Wednesday, he was reported to have had a second relationship, this time with an Nvidia executive.

Alice Huang worked as an executive at the Singaporean firm Megaspeed. She has been suspected of being an intelligence asset for China, according to the New York Times. China has rejected those allegations as a smear.

And US Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday the Department of Justice had not yet drawn any conclusions about Alice Huang was engaged in espionage for Beijing.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons, along with other Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, publicly demanded that Huang brief Congress on his alleged affair.

If he refuses to appear voluntarily before any committee that calls him, he could be subpoenaed, one Senate staff member told the BBC.

Initially those chips were designed for computer gaming.