Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang steps down, casting doubt on AI industry's future

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is stepping down, leaving the AI industry without its biggest champion and clouding the future of the chipmaker he built into an AI powerhouse. CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO as the company searches for a permanent successor. Huang, who co-founded Nvidia and holds a 3.61 per cent stake, will also exit the board, with former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones named as the company's first board chairman. Nvidia shares fell more than 10 per cent in premarket trading, weighing on the broader market. The departure follows reports of Huang's affair with a Chinese businesswoman suspected by U.S. authorities of spying for Beijing, and a separate affair with a senior company executive. Huang's exit plunges the US$4-trillion company into uncertainty and threatens to disrupt the AI ecosystem he helped bankroll, including cloud providers, suppliers, and major research labs. His departure could also affect U.S. chip export policy, given his push to preserve access to the Chinese market and his close ties with President Donald Trump.