Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO amid espionage scandal; $1.4 trillion in market value lost
Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia's CEO, president and board member effective immediately on November 12, 2026, after the Wall Street Journal reported the board planned to fire him over two extramarital affairs, one with a suspected Chinese spy. Nvidia has lost roughly $1.4 trillion in market value since an October 29 New York Times report on possible ties to Chinese intelligence, and CFO Colette Kress is taking over on an interim basis. Harvey C. Jones becomes the first independent board chair, while Huang's departure leaves no clear succession plan and could unsettle the alliance and guarantee structure built around him.
Why it matters: Nvidia's abrupt leadership change and the $1.4 trillion market value loss raise questions about how deeply the AI chip supply chain depends on one person.