Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns as scandal mounts over alleged affair with suspected Chinese spy

Jensen Huang has resigned from his role as the head of the AI chipmaker Nvidia over his reported affair with a suspected Chinese spy, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Colette Kress, the company's current executive vice president and chief financial officer, has been named as interim CEO.

"Nvidia's strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years," Kress said in a statement.

Huang resigned after facing growing calls to step down over his reported affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Nvidia had been investigating whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort after reports of an affair with a woman US intelligence reportedly identified as a Chinese intelligence asset.

Huang confirmed the affair in an email to Nvidia staff.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Huang also had an affair with an Nvidia executive who worked for him.

Shares in Nvidia, one of the world's biggest companies, plummeted 10% on Thursday in pre-market trading.

Huang, 63, co-founded Nvidia, which he led for more than three decades, turning it from a gaming chipmaker into the dominant supplier of chips for artificial intelligence.

This a developing news story, more to follow...