The chief executive has been under scrutiny for an affair with a woman said to be a Chinese spy, as well as for a relationship with a subordinate at his A.I. chip company. Nvidia’s finance chief, Colette Kress, was named interim leader.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, resigned on Thursday after revelations that he had an affair with an executive who reported to him as well as with a woman whom U.S. officials had identified as a Chinese spy.
The chip company’s 10-member board met for several hours Wednesday evening and agreed to name Colette Kress, the company’s chief financial officer, as interim chief executive, until a permanent successor has been named. The board said on Thursday that it would begin a search for a permanent replacement and would consider internal and external candidates.
Nvidia also appointed Harvey Jones, a longtime tech entrepreneur and investor, as the chip company’s chairman. In a statement, Mr. Jones said that the board was confident in Ms. Kress and the executive team and that it expected “the company’s operations, customer commitments and product road map to continue without interruption.”
Mr. Huang’s exit opens an uncertain chapter for Nvidia, the premier maker of artificial intelligence chips, and will have widespread ripple effects. The Silicon Valley firm is a linchpin of the A.I. boom and one of the world’s most valuable public companies, controlling an estimated 90 percent of the market for the computer chips used in the big A.I. projects that are driving the U.S. economy.
That dominance has made Mr. Huang one of the world’s wealthiest people, as well as an ally of President Trump’s. Mr. Trump was previously informed about Mr. Huang’s relationship with the woman believed to be a Chinese intelligence asset but took no action. He has defended Mr. Huang over the past week, saying he was an “honorable man” who did not know the woman was a Chinese agent.
Few Silicon Valley executives — with the possible exception of Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, and Steve Jobs of Apple — have been as synonymous with their companies as Mr. Huang, 63. He was a founder of Nvidia in 1993. He manages all aspects of its business as chief executive, and his family members have steadily risen through the company’s ranks. With a 3.56 percent stake, he is also Nvidia’s largest individual shareholder. He has had such a tight grip on the company that there is no clear successor.