Nvidia CEO resigns amid espionage concerns, shares drop over 10%

Nvidia announced the resignation of its longtime CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday, CBS News Bay Area reported. Huang's departure followed revelations about his extramarital affair with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies suspect to be a Chinese asset.

Following the announcement, Nvidia's shares fell sharply, dropping more than 10% to $156 before markets opened. This decline adds to losses earlier in the week, with the company on track to lose over $700 billion in value since last week's close.

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO during the transition, the company said. Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and was widely recognized as a leading figure in the artificial intelligence industry due to Nvidia's role in producing powerful semiconductors used by AI firms.

Nvidia's chips are subject to export controls restricting sales to China, and Huang had previously advocated for relaxing some of these regulations. The New York Times also reported that Huang had an affair with Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, Kimberly Powell, according to company employees.

Wall Street analysts had warned that Nvidia's stock could suffer significantly if Huang left the company. Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives noted the company's valuation would now need to be reassessed without Huang as CEO.