Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns: What Happened and What Comes Next

By Eoin Villarin, 2026-11-12

Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO on November 12, 2026, after 33 years. CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO. Here is the full timeline, why he left, what happened to the stock and what it means for developers.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned. On Thursday, November 12, 2026, Nvidia announced that Huang stepped down as president, chief executive officer and member of the board, effective immediately, after 33 years leading the company he co-founded. Chief financial officer Colette Kress is now interim CEO, longtime director Harvey C. Jones became the board's first ever chair, and the board has started a search for a permanent CEO. Nvidia's announcement gave no reason, but it came four days after the board opened an independent investigation into reports about Huang's personal relationships. Here is what happened, the full timeline, what it did to the stock and what it means for developers and businesses that depend on Nvidia.

What Nvidia announced

Nvidia's statement was short and focused on leadership. According to the company and a regulatory filing reported by TechCrunch, the board accepted Huang's resignation on Wednesday, November 11, and the company confirmed it before U.S. markets opened on Thursday.

The board thanked Huang, calling his contributions to Nvidia "profound." Jones said the board has "full confidence in Colette and the leadership team." Huang himself was not quoted in the release.

Why did Jensen Huang resign?

Nvidia has not given an official reason. News reports connect the exit to a fast moving scandal over Huang's personal relationships and possible national security concerns. Here is what was reported, and by whom:

• October 29: The New York Times reported that U.S. officials had concluded an executive at Megaspeed, a company with business ties to Nvidia, was a Chinese intelligence asset who had a close relationship with Huang. Nvidia said the interactions were not unusual.
• November 8: Nvidia's board opened an independent investigation into reports that Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The same day, Huang told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife. He has denied compromising national security or Nvidia's secrets, and the board said it had no reason to believe either was compromised.
• November 9: A shareholder filed a proposed class action in federal court in San Jose, accusing Nvidia and Huang of misleading investors.
• November 10: The independent directors hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to run the investigation.
• November 11: The New York Times reported a second relationship, with a vice president who reported to Huang. The Wall Street Journal and CBS News reported that the board was preparing to remove him. The board accepted his resignation that day.

President Donald Trump has said the FBI is investigating. Lawmakers from both parties have asked questions: House Republican committee chairs requested a closed-door briefing from Huang, and Democrats, who take control of both houses of Congress in January, have promised to look into the matter.

Timeline: from first report to resignation

Who is Colette Kress, Nvidia's interim CEO?

Colette Kress has been Nvidia's executive vice president and chief financial officer since September 2013, which means she ran the company's finances through its entire rise from a gaming chip maker to the center of the AI boom. Before Nvidia she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft. She keeps the CFO job while serving as interim CEO, so she will also lead next week's earnings report.

Harvey C. Jones, the new chair, has been on Nvidia's board since 1993, the year the company was founded. He is a former CEO and executive chairman of the chip design software company Synopsys and a managing partner at Square Wave Ventures. Nvidia never had a separate board chair before, so the role itself is new.

What happened to Nvidia stock?

The stock was already falling before the announcement and dropped again after it:

• Shares fell 4.27% to $178.67 on Monday, November 9, after Huang's admission.
• They closed at $173.73 on Wednesday, November 11, then fell more than 8% after hours when the second report came out. The overnight low of $156.20 was the lowest since July 2025 and about 35% below the October 6 record.
• After the resignation was announced, premarket trading on Thursday showed a drop of about 10% to 11%.
• CNBC reported Nvidia was heading for a sixth straight weekly decline, its longest losing streak since 2012, and had fallen behind Apple in market value.

This post is news, not investment advice. Stock prices move quickly, so check a live quote before making any decision.

Jensen Huang's 33 years at Nvidia

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem and was its only CEO until this week. Under him Nvidia invented the modern GPU for gaming, launched the CUDA programming platform in 2006, and turned its chips into the standard hardware for training and running AI models. His keynotes, always in a black leather jacket, became major industry events, and at CES 2025 he laid out Nvidia's path from perception AI to generative, agentic and physical AI.

That is why the exit matters far beyond one company. Executive search CEO Jeff Christian told CNBC that Huang "speaks for the industry," and that he is financially connected to nearly everyone in AI through partnerships and deals.

What happens next

1. Earnings on November 17: Nvidia reports third quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific, with the call at 2 p.m. Pacific. It will be Kress's first earnings call as interim CEO.
2. The CEO search: The board will consider internal and external candidates. No search firm or deadline has been named.
3. The investigation: Wachtell Lipton's findings could shape how the board and regulators respond.
4. Lawsuits and Congress: The shareholder lawsuit continues, and congressional inquiries are expected in the new year.

What it means for developers and businesses using Nvidia

For most developers and businesses, nothing changes this week. GPUs keep shipping, CUDA and drivers keep updating, and cloud providers keep renting Nvidia hardware. Leadership changes take months to affect products. Still, it is a good reminder not to tie everything to one vendor. A practical checklist:

1. Do not panic and migrate. Nvidia hardware and software are still the standard for AI work, and switching is expensive.
2. Keep your code hardware portable. Frameworks like PyTorch let the same code run on Nvidia, Apple Silicon or CPU. Pick the device at runtime instead of hard coding it:

import torch

if torch.cuda.is_available():
    device = "cuda"
elif torch.backends.mps.is_available():
    device = "mps"
else:
    device = "cpu"

model = model.to(device)

3. Use more than one cloud GPU option. If you rent GPUs, make sure you can move jobs between providers in case prices or availability change.
4. Budget for price swings. Market turmoil can change cloud GPU pricing and hardware lead times, so leave room in AI project budgets.
5. Plan for key person risk in your own business. If one person holds all the knowledge or logins, document processes and share access so the business keeps running without them.

If you want AI features on your website that are not locked to one provider, see my AI chatbot and automation and custom web development services. For more on how money and politics are shaping AI companies, read my post on the Anthropic IPO and the AI data center backlash.

Confirmed vs reported

Frequently asked questions

Did Jensen Huang resign from Nvidia?

Yes. Nvidia announced on November 12, 2026 that Jensen Huang resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately. The board accepted his resignation on November 11.

Who is the new CEO of Nvidia?

CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement. She also remains CFO. Harvey C. Jones is the new board chair.

Why did Jensen Huang resign?

Nvidia did not give a reason. Reports link the resignation to an investigation into his personal relationships, including one with a person U.S. officials suspect was a Chinese intelligence asset, which Huang says did not compromise national security.

What happened to Nvidia stock after Jensen Huang resigned?

Shares fell about 10% to 11% in premarket trading on November 12, after already dropping since November 9. The stock was about 35% below its October 6 record at its overnight low.

Will Nvidia GPUs and CUDA be affected?

Not in the short term. Products, drivers and cloud availability continue as normal. Any changes to strategy would come later from a permanent CEO.

When is Nvidia's next earnings report?

Nvidia reports third quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific, with the earnings call at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Sources

• TechCrunch: Nvidia's Jensen Huang resigns, chipmaker names CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO
• CBS News: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns, board of directors announce
• CNBC: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns, Colette Kress named interim chief, live updates
• Semafor: Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO
• Axios: Jensen Huang, an architect of the AI boom, resigns as Nvidia CEO
• PPC Land: Jensen Huang exits Nvidia after 33 years with no permanent successor
• San Francisco Chronicle: Nvidia and Jensen Huang face shareholder lawsuit
• CBS News: Nvidia's board preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang, sources say