Jensen Huang’s Nvidia Exit Timeline: What Happened Behind The Scenes Before He Resigned?

For more than three decades, Jensen Huang was the driving force behind Nvidia's rise from a relatively small chipmaker into one of the world's most valuable technology companies. But in November 2026, the co-founder abruptly stepped down as CEO, bringing his 33-year leadership of the AI chip giant to an end.

The resignation followed weeks of scrutiny over his alleged relationship with Alice Huang, a Singapore-based data centre executive suspected by US officials of having links to Chinese intelligence. The controversy raised questions about Nvidia's business connections, the movement of its advanced AI chips and potential national security implications.

What initially appeared to be a controversy Huang could survive escalated after he acknowledged an extramarital affair, Nvidia's board launched an investigation and a separate report emerged alleging another relationship with a senior company executive.

The developments also put Nvidia's unusual dependence on its co-founder under the spotlight. Huang had been closely involved in the company's technology, business strategy and management, leaving the board with the challenge of finding a successor capable of taking on his responsibilities.

Here is a timeline of the events that led to his departure, based on reports by The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, and other publications. March 2023: Megaspeed emerges from a Chinese gaming company The story surrounding Huang's exit has roots in the business activities of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data centre company.

According to The Guardian, Megaspeed was spun out of Chinese video game company 7Road Holdings. Its ownership was transferred to Huang Le Ltd, an entity linked to Alice Huang, who became its managing director. November 2023: Megaspeed becomes an Nvidia cloud partner Megaspeed's shares were subsequently transferred to a Singapore-based company called Swiftdata.

Around the same time, it became an Nvidia cloud partner, a designation that could provide preferential access to the chipmaker's advanced processors. The company's connection with Nvidia would later attract scrutiny amid questions about the movement of advanced AI chips into the Chinese market.

June 2024: Jensen Huang and Alice Huang are seen together in Taipei The two were photographed at a bar in Taipei, Taiwan, where technology industry executives had gathered. The Wall Street Journal reported that Kang Wei, Alice Huang's husband and business associate, had introduced them.

Their association would later become a central part of the controversy surrounding the Nvidia chief. Also Read : Jensen Huang Steps Down: Could One Of These 3 Indian-Origin Executives Lead Nvidia Next? According to The New York Times, Megaspeed received hundreds of shipments of Nvidia AI chips during this period.

It used the computing capacity generated by the processors to serve customers, including Chinese technology companies Tencent and Alibaba. The scale of its business also attracted attention. Reuters, citing financial filings, reported that Megaspeed's assets increased from $33 million in 2023 to $3 billion in 2024.

Huang met US President Donald Trump at the White House on January 31. The meeting marked the beginning of a series of interactions between the two during Trump's second term.