Jensen Huang
Co-founder and former CEO, NVIDIA (1993 to 2026)
Who is Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang (Jen-Hsun Huang) co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and was its president and chief executive for 33 years[1][21]. Under him, Nvidia went from a video-game graphics company to the leading maker of AI chips, and in October 2025 it became the first company worth $5 trillion[8].
On 11 November 2026 Nvidia's board accepted his resignation as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately, and Nvidia announced it the next day[20][21]. It followed two weeks of press reports about his relationships, including one with a woman US officials reportedly believed was working for Chinese intelligence, and a board investigation, described below. Chief financial officer Colette Kress is interim CEO[20].
Early life and education
Huang was born in Taiwan on 17 February 1963[3]. At nine he and his brother were sent to the United States to live with an uncle in Tacoma, Washington[2][3]. He was then sent to the Oneida Baptist Institute in Kentucky[2], and later moved to Oregon, where he finished high school at Aloha High School at 16[3].
He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University in 1984 and a master's in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1992[1][3]. He met his wife, Lori Mills, at Oregon State, and they married in 1985[3].
Founding Nvidia and the first GPU
As a teenager Huang worked at Denny's as a dishwasher, busboy and waiter[3]. After university he designed microprocessors at AMD and then worked at LSI Logic, where he became a director[1][3].
In 1993 he co-founded Nvidia with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, after planning the company at a Denny's in East San Jose[3]. Nvidia was incorporated on 5 April 1993, with early funding from Sequoia Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures, and Huang was its chief executive from the start, at 30[3].
In 1999 Nvidia released the GeForce 256 and marketed it as the world's first GPU[28]. Nvidia's own biography of Huang credits the company with inventing the GPU that year[1].
How Nvidia became the AI chip company
In 2006 Nvidia released CUDA, which let developers use its GPUs for general computing rather than only graphics[29]. In 2012 the AlexNet image-recognition model, a turning point for deep learning, was trained on two Nvidia GTX 580 GPUs[5]. In August 2016 Huang hand-delivered the first DGX-1, Nvidia's AI server, to OpenAI in San Francisco[4].
Demand for AI computing then turned Nvidia into one of the most valuable companies in the world. It briefly passed $1 trillion in market value on 30 May 2023, the first US-based chipmaker to do so[6]. It became the first public company worth $4 trillion on 9 July 2025, and the first worth $5 trillion on 29 October 2025[7][8]. In March 2026, at its GTC conference, Nvidia announced the Vera Rubin platform and said its seven new chips were in full production[9].
China was a recurring problem. In April 2025 the US government required export licences for the H20, Nvidia's most advanced chip for sale in China, and Nvidia took a $5.5 billion charge[10].
In September 2026 Nvidia agreed to buy Hugging Face for about $11.9 billion paid to its stockholders, plus up to about $1.0 billion in equity to keep its employees, with closing expected in the first half of 2027[11].
Investigation and resignation, November 2026
In late October 2026 The New York Times reported that US authorities believed Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer[12]. The two are not related[12]. On 6 November the Financial Times reported that a US government memo described a romantic relationship between Huang and a Chinese businesswoman whom US intelligence believes was recruited to spy for Beijing[13]. NBC News reported that the memo was circulated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio[14].
China denied the allegations, calling them "purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China"[14]. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs disputed a Wall Street Journal report that Singapore officials had investigated Alice Huang over alleged links to Chinese intelligence, saying: "There were no such investigations conducted in respect of Alice Huang"[22]. None of these reports said Jensen Huang passed on secrets.
On 8 November Huang wrote to Nvidia employees: "I was unfaithful to my wife." He said he supported the investigation and would cooperate fully[16]. The same day the board said it was opening an independent investigation, overseen by a committee of independent directors, into reporting that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort, and that it had no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised[15]. On 10 November the independent directors said they had hired Joon H. Kim, a former acting US Attorney, and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the investigation[17].
On 11 November The New York Times reported a second relationship, with an Nvidia executive who reported to Huang, citing five people who had worked at the company; NBC News said it had not verified the claims[18][14]. The Wall Street Journal ran a report the same day headlined "Nvidia Is Preparing to Oust CEO Jensen Huang"[19]. The board met that night and accepted his resignation, and Nvidia disclosed it in an SEC filing and a press release on 12 November[14][20][21].
Colette Kress, Nvidia's CFO since 2013, became interim CEO and keeps the CFO role[20]. Harvey C. Jones, a director since 1993, became Nvidia's first chair of the board, and the board said it will consider internal and external candidates for the permanent job[20][21]. Nvidia's announcement did not give a reason, quote Huang or say whether he keeps any role at the company[21]. NBC News reported that Nvidia shares fell more than 11% after the announcement[14].
Net worth, awards and philanthropy
Forbes's real-time list put Huang's net worth at $151.2 billion on 12 November 2026, making him the 11th-richest person in the world[23]. Most of it is Nvidia stock: Fortune, citing a September 2026 filing, reported that he held about 870 million shares, roughly 3.5% of the company, in his name and family trusts[24].
He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has received the Semiconductor Industry Association's Robert N. Noyce Award[1]. Time named him among the "Architects of AI" it chose as its 2025 Person of the Year[27].
Huang and his wife Lori funded Stanford's Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center, which was dedicated in October 2010[25]. In 2022 they gave $50 million toward Oregon State University's Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex[26].
Known for
- Co-founding Nvidia in 1993 and leading it as CEO until November 2026
- The GeForce 256, marketed as the first GPU, and the CUDA platform
- Building Nvidia into the leading maker of AI chips
Frequently asked questions
Why did Jensen Huang resign from Nvidia?
Nvidia's board accepted his resignation on 11 November 2026 and announced it on 12 November, without giving a reason or quoting him. It followed press reports of two relationships and a board investigation into reporting that he had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. In a message to employees on 8 November he wrote that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
Who is the CEO of Nvidia now?
Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer since 2013, is interim CEO and also stays CFO. The board says it will consider internal and external candidates for the permanent job.
Is Jensen Huang still on Nvidia's board?
No. Nvidia's SEC filing says he resigned as president, chief executive and member of the board, effective immediately. Harvey C. Jones became the company's first chair of the board.
What is Jensen Huang's net worth?
Forbes put it at $151.2 billion on 12 November 2026. Most of it is Nvidia stock: he held about 870 million shares, roughly 3.5% of the company, according to Fortune.
Where did Jensen Huang go to college?
He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University (1984) and a master's in electrical engineering from Stanford University (1992).
How old is Jensen Huang, and where is he from?
He was born in Taiwan on 17 February 1963, so he was 63 when he resigned. He moved to the United States at nine, lived with an uncle in Tacoma, Washington, and went to school in Kentucky and then Oregon.
Sources
- NVIDIA Newsroom: Jensen Huang biography (not yet updated after his resignation) — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Carnegie Corporation of New York: Great Immigrants, Jensen Huang — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia: Jensen Huang — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Fortune: Nvidia delivers its DGX-1 to OpenAI, August 2016 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia: AlexNet — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Fortune: Nvidia hits $1 trillion, May 2023 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Fortune: Nvidia reaches $4 trillion, July 2025 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Fox Business: Nvidia becomes first company to hit $5 trillion, October 2025 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- NVIDIA: Vera Rubin press release, March 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- The Star (Reuters): Nvidia faces $5.5 billion charge as US restricts chip sales to China, April 2025 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- NVIDIA Form 8-K on the Hugging Face agreement, 3 September 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- The New York Times, October 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Financial Times, 6 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- NBC News: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns, 12 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- NVIDIA: Statement from the board of directors, 8 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- NVIDIA: Jensen Huang, A Message to Our Company, 8 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- CNBC: Nvidia board hires Wachtell Lipton, 10 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- The New York Times, 11 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- The Wall Street Journal: Nvidia is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang, 11 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- NVIDIA Form 8-K on the CEO resignation, 12 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- NVIDIA: NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition, 12 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- CNBC: Megaspeed and Alice Huang, 12 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Forbes: Jensen Huang real-time net worth — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Fortune: Jensen Huang's net worth drops $6.5 billion, 10 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Stanford Engineering: Huang Center dedicated, 2010 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Oregon State University: $50 million gift by Nvidia founder and spouse, October 2022 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- CBS News: The Architects of AI are Time's 2025 Person of the Year — checked 12 Nov 2026
- The FPS Review: Nvidia launched the world's first GPU 25 years ago, 2024 — checked 12 Nov 2026
- Yahoo Finance: Nvidia CEO Huang resigns, board names CFO Colette Kress interim CEO, 12 November 2026 — checked 12 Nov 2026