Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO, exits board; shares plunge
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as president and CEO and stepped down from the company’s board on Thursday, effective immediately. The board named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim CEO.
Kress will retain her role as CFO while Nvidia’s board considers internal and external candidates for the permanent CEO role. The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones its first chair and said it expects Nvidia’s operations to proceed without interruption.
Nvidia shares fell more than 13% shortly after the US market opened on Thursday, trading at $151.00 as of 2:31 p.m. UTC, according to Yahoo Finance. Bitcoin (BTC) fell alongside Nvidia shares, dropping as much as 3.5% to a multimonth low.
The shares later pared losses to trade at $165 at 4:24 p.m. UTC, down 5% on the day. The stock was down more than 26% over the previous month.
Kress has served as Nvidia’s CFO since September 2013 and previously held finance positions at Cisco and Microsoft.
Nvidia is scheduled to report its fiscal 2027 third-quarter financial results on Nov. 17.
Huang’s resignation follows foreign intelligence investigation
Huang’s departure comes just four days after Nvidia’s board announced an independent investigation amid reports that the company’s co-founder had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
The board said it had no reason to believe US national security or Nvidia’s confidential information had been compromised, but would examine all available information.
In a separate message to employees that day, Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair and apologized to his family and colleagues. He also pledged to cooperate with the investigation.
On Tuesday, Nvidia’s independent directors retained former acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim and law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the inquiry.
On Wednesday, reports said Nvidia’s board was preparing to remove Huang as CEO.
Nvidia’s rise to $5.5 trillion under Huang
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and served as its CEO for more than 33 years, overseeing its transformation from a graphics-chip maker into a leading supplier of AI processors. His departure marks the first CEO transition in the company’s history.
Nvidia’s market capitalization surged from approximately $57.5 billion at the end of 2016 to a peak of $5.5 trillion on Sept. 1, 2026, a nearly 96-fold increase, according to data from Stock Analysis.
Amid Nvidia’s sell-off, Huang’s estimated net worth fell to $140.6 billion as of 3:42 p.m. UTC Thursday from $162.2 billion on Nov. 9.
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