Jensen Huang has stepped down as CEO of Nvidia, causing share prices to plummet. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over the role on an interim basis.
Huang founded Nvidia 33 years ago and developed the company into the world’s leading supplier of computer chips for artificial intelligence. It was the world’s second most valuable company, beaten only by Apple.
His departure comes after he admitted to having had a relationship with a Chinese woman, Alice Huang, whom US authorities believe was a Chinese spy.
On Wednesday, New York Times reported that Huang had had an affair with Kimberly Powell, the group’s vice-president in charge of Nvidia’s healthcare division. Huang has been married for 41 years, that is, since before he founded Nvidia.
The company’s share price has plummeted by over 13 per cent, resulting in a loss in value of as much as 600 billion dollars.
Chief economist Kyrre M. Knudsen at Sparebank 1 Sør-Norge told TV 2 that the Nvidia case could be a seismic event if it turns out that China has gained access to vast amounts of information about the company’s technology.
The question that needs answering is whether the Nvidia case is an isolated incident or a symptom of something bigger, says Knudsen.
– If this involves more than just one executive who has been lured in, this is a potential earthquake. We don’t know for sure yet. If the Chinese have got hold of a lot of important information, we could say that this isolated incident is a minor earthquake. For the time being, it isn’t.
US President Donald Trump has already suggested a successor to Huang. Former Apple CEO Tim Cook should become the new head of Nvidia, according to the president, who also praises Huang’s achievements on Truth Social.
– Now that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has done a fantastic job, is stepping down, there is only one man who can take his place: Tim Cook from Apple. A legend replaces a legend!
The battle over the development of artificial intelligence is seen as a new phase in the race between the superpowers, this time between rivals the US and China. If China has indeed gained access to vital information as a result of this scandal, it could have major geopolitical consequences.
