Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Steps Down After 33 Years, Colette Kress Takes Over as Interim CEO

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned from his position after leading the company for more than three decades. The company announced the decision on November 12, bringing an end to Huang’s 33-year tenure at the world’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker. Nvidia said Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and a member of the board, with immediate effect. The company has appointed its chief financial officer, Colette Kress, as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent successor. The board will consider both internal and external candidates. The announcement follows days of turmoil at Nvidia after reports about Huang’s personal relationships triggered questions about corporate governance and possible national security risks. However, the company did not give a reason for his resignation in its official statement. Colette Kress, who has served as Nvidia’s executive vice president and CFO since September 2013, will take charge as interim CEO. She will continue to hold the finance role until the company appoints a permanent chief executive. Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and transformed it into the dominant supplier of AI chips, will step down immediately. The company has not yet named a permanent successor, raising concerns about a leadership vacuum at a firm whose market value has hovered near $4 trillion. Questions are also emerging over whether Nvidia’s financial partnerships with other companies across the semiconductor industry could be affected. Chip stocks had recently gained momentum after strong earnings from CoreWeave helped ease concerns about the strength of the AI sector. The positive sentiment had also supported shares of several companies competing with Nvidia. Senior US Democratic lawmakers Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons have urged the Trump administration to retain all records related to Nvidia’s chip exports to China. They have also questioned whether US agencies had taken appropriate counterintelligence measures to address the suspected security threat or whether warnings and recommendations had been overlooked. They had sought a congressional briefing to examine the potential national security implications of the alleged intelligence operation. In a letter addressed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller , the senators raised concerns about whether the US government has adequate safeguards to enforce restrictions on sensitive technology exports and prevent threats to national security. Reports also suggested that Rubio had earlier briefed US President Donald Trump about the matter.Washington has imposed restrictions on exports of some of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China to safeguard America’s lead in the strategically important semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the senators’ letter.