Nvidia faces leadership vacuum after CEO Jensen Huang resigns

Nvidia faces an uncertain future after co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang resigned Thursday following an admitted affair with a woman linked to Chinese intelligence and a second relationship with a subordinate, leaving the AI chip giant without a clear successor for the first time in its 33-year history. Chief financial officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while retaining her finance role, and Harvey C. Jones, former Synopsys CEO, becomes the board's first chair. The company has no known succession plan, with no obvious internal candidates; outside possibilities include AMD's Lisa Su, Arm's Rene Haas, and Intel's Lip-Bu Tan, while Huang's children hold management roles. Investors may reassess the "Huang premium" that boosted Nvidia's valuation, and rivals like AMD, Broadcom, and Alphabet could gain as customers diversify orders. The first test comes November 17 with quarterly results, while broader concerns include potential disruption to AI spending and Nvidia's influence in Washington, where Huang lobbied against China chip export curbs.