Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned Thursday after his extramarital affairs raised national security concerns, the company announced. The board named Colette Kress, currently executive vice president and chief financial officer, as interim CEO, and appointed entrepreneur and venture investor Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chairman. Nvidia shares fell 10% in premarket trading Thursday.
The board gathered to discuss Huang's future after revelations that he had an affair with a former Megaspeed executive, identified by The New York Times as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le. U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly determined she was feeding information directly to Beijing. The Associated Press could not independently confirm those reports. On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced the FBI was investigating.
Nvidia said it had "no reason to believe" that national security or company secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information. Late Wednesday, media reports also said Huang had an affair with an Nvidia employee who reported to him. The two Huangs are not related.
Singapore-headquartered Megaspeed International said Thursday it takes its obligation to comply with U.S. export control laws "extremely seriously" and is "committed to working constructively and transparently with the U.S. government." The company, which prominently touts a partnership with Nvidia, faced claims last year of illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia chips into China but said in December there was "no evidence" of such exports. Megaspeed said it has cooperated with the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security and hired a U.S. law firm to verify its export controls.
Sources: Las Vegas Sun
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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