Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns Following Reports of Two Affairs

Jensen Huang stepped down as chief executive of Nvidia on Thursday following revelations of two romantic relationships. The company confirmed the resignation in a statement released in the morning. Reports from The New York Times indicated that Huang was close to a suspected Chinese spy. Hours later, Reuters reported that he also maintained an intimate relationship with a direct report at Nvidia.

President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social, stating that Huang had done a fantastic job. He identified Apple CEO Tim Cook as the sole suitable replacement, writing that a legend replaces a legend. Jason Calacanis, host of the All-In Podcast, shared the post and urged Cook to keep the seat warm while investigations proceed. Calacanis argued that shareholders should determine Huang's future only after the review is complete.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, said in a reply on X that it would be an honor to hire Huang. Musk agreed with a post noting that founders are difficult to replace, writing that the sentiment contained true words. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney described the departure as a sad day for developers and America. He noted that Huang founded a company that reached massive scale while driving continued innovation.

Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril, posted on Wednesday night before the official announcement. Luckey suggested that China wanted Huang out and stated that he wanted him in. Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of Automattic, shared advice from his own September ouster regarding coup attempts by leaders. He added that he was reposting the message for no specific reason.

David Heinemeier Hansson, CTO of 37signals, called the departure a waste. He had earlier argued that marital indiscretions were a matter for the board and that Nvidia should have exercised proportionality. Clément Delangue, co-founder of Hugging Face, said he wished none of it had happened. Delangue stated that his company would continue fighting for open-source AI with increased effort.

Peter Steinberger, an OpenAI employee and creator of OpenClaw, suggested the alleged spy achieved its goal of destabilizing the company. He described the ouster as rushed. Aravind Srinivas, co-founder of Perplexity, thanked Huang for 33 years of bold leadership. Srinivas credited Huang with building Nvidia into America's most valuable company and noted his generosity toward other founders.

Lex Fridman, host of the Lex Fridman Podcast, expressed shock at the events. He observed that Huang demonstrated kindness and humility to those around him. Fridman stated that letting Huang go was terrible for America and that he stood with the former executive.