Wire reporting: (Reuters, via CNA)

Nvidia said Thursday that co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as president, chief executive and a member of the board, effective immediately, and that chief financial officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO¹.

The board said it is starting a search for a permanent chief executive and will consider internal and external candidates¹. Harvey C. Jones, a longtime director and former Synopsys executive, was named the company's first board chair¹.

Kress has been Nvidia's CFO since 2013 and will keep that title while serving as interim CEO¹. Jones said the board expects operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption¹. Nvidia said it will still report fiscal third-quarter results on Nov. 17¹.

The company statement did not give a reason for Huang's departure¹. Wired reported that Huang stepped down four days after Nvidia opened an investigation into his affair with Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, whom U.S. officials have described as an alleged Chinese intelligence asset². China has rejected those spy claims^2,4.

Wired, citing a person familiar with the matter, said a reported relationship with a subordinate and Huang's dealings with Singapore-based Megaspeed, where Alice Huang previously held a senior role, likely weighed more on the board than the espionage allegations². Huang had emailed employees acknowledging an affair and pledging to cooperate with the probe, Wired reported².

ABC News Australia said Huang is 63, owns about 3.6 percent of Nvidia, and that the stock had fallen about 24 percent over the prior month⁵. Al Jazeera said the company's market value had dropped below $4 trillion⁴. A proposed shareholder class action accuses Nvidia and Huang of concealing the relationship, ABC reported⁵.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast said Huang agreed to a closed-door congressional briefing by Thanksgiving after lawmakers threatened a subpoena³. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott asked Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify in public on Dec. 3, Al Jazeera reported⁴.

South Korea's science minister said Nvidia reaffirmed plans to supply up to 260,000 GPUs there despite the leadership change⁶.