Nvidia announced on Thursday that its founder and chief executive Jensen Huang had resigned following reports of an affair with a subordinate and a board meeting to discuss his removal. The resignation marks the departure of the company's only long-term CEO and raises questions about the firm’s governance as the board seeks a successor.
Investigations have turned to Megaspeed, Nvidia’s largest Southeast Asian customer, after a Singapore newspaper found the company’s office largely empty and its sole director unaccounted for. The firm’s parent, Swiftdata, lists an interior-design business as its address, and local observers note the premises have been dark for an extended period.
The Financial Times reported that Alice Huang, who has recently appeared in Beijing, is barred from entering Singapore for providing inaccurate information to police. The outlet also noted that her enterprises have invested in Chinese AI startup DeepSeek and have pledged Nvidia’s Blackwell processors for future projects.
Separate allegations involve Super Micro, a longtime Nvidia partner led by an associate of Huang. Bloomberg cited an indictment that accuses three co-founders of channeling a front company based in Thailand, identified as OBON, to purchase $2.5 billion of Nvidia chips for Alibaba. No charges have been filed against the company or its leadership.
The New York Times identified another obscure buyer, New Matrix, as an approved Nvidia customer with connections to entities blacklisted by the United States or linked to Chinese military contractors. This finding adds to concerns about the end-use of Nvidia’s advanced AI hardware.
Huang has publicly maintained that the company has found no evidence of any AI chip diversion. However, the board’s decision to remove him suggests internal doubts, especially after reports that Nvidia halted a 2025 Commerce Department probe into Megaspeed’s suspected chip smuggling activities.
Following the scandal, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has become a focal point for criticism. Axios reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted him over the failure to flag Megaspeed as a national-security risk, while Politico noted that several Republican lawmakers have demanded answers from the department.
With Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, Senate Banking Committee chair Elizabeth Warren is poised to issue subpoenas as part of a broader effort to address corporate corruption. Analysts warn that if evidence emerges that Huang knowingly allowed chip sales to prohibited destinations, he could face criminal charges.