"I'm a total loser", the inside story of Jensen Huang's last few hours before his resignation has been exposed.

Bloomberg reconstructed the inside story of the final hours before Jensen Huang's resignation: after two extramarital affairs were exposed one after another and the board of directors held an emergency overnight meeting to put pressure on him, Jensen Huang resigned unconditionally late at night on November 11, completely exhausted. He began to frequently say phrases like "whatever" and "I don't care". Recently, he also frequently condemned himself, saying "I'm a terrible person"

Late at night on November 11 Eastern Time, after the remote meeting of NVIDIA's board of directors ended, Jensen Huang's 33-year career as CEO came to an end.

After weeks of denial and struggle, Jensen Huang completely gave up that night. He "looked broken and heartbroken, his signature energy was completely drained". He began to frequently say phrases like "whatever" and "I don't care." ( "whatever" and "I don't care.") — which is extremely rare for a founder who used to manage nearly 60 direct subordinate executives down to the smallest detail.

On November 13, Bloomberg published an in-depth report, reconstructing the inside story of the last few hours before Jensen Huang, founder of NVIDIA, stepped down from his position as CEO.

According to reports, people who have talked to him recently also revealed that Jensen Huang began to scold himself severely, saying the words: "I'm a Piece of Sh--." (I'm a Piece of Sh--.)

Admission of Extramarital Affair

The start of this round of incident was in late October. At that time, media outlets exposed that Jensen Huang had a close relationship with a woman named Alice Huang. But Jensen Huang kept denying it.

It can even be traced back to the end of 2025. At that time, some people inside NVIDIA had already raised questions about the relationship between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, while Jensen Huang always insisted that he was loyal to his wife. In one of his last public interviews during his tenure as CEO, he also told Bloomberg that his interactions with Alice Huang were no different from those with other clients and corporate executives.

"Everything is completely normal, there is nothing unusual about it," he stated at the time.

The turning point came on November 6. The Financial Times of the UK, citing sources from US officials, reported that the two were in a romantic relationship.

Shortly after the report was released, NVIDIA's General Counsel Tim Teter went to Jensen Huang's home in person to question him face to face. This time, Jensen Huang admitted the affair.

Most of the directors still did not want to make a public statement at this point. But Teter, who also served as the board secretary, clearly informed the board of directors: Action must be taken.

On November 7, NVIDIA announced the launch of an investigation, hiring the well-known law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead the process.

On November 8, Jensen Huang sent an email to all employees, publicly admitting the extramarital affair, apologizing to his family, and promising to "fully cooperate" with the board's investigation.

Overnight Board Meeting

The scandal did not subside after that.

On November 11, The New York Times further disclosed that Jensen Huang also had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, vice president of NVIDIA's healthcare business.

This time, the board of directors did not hesitate any longer.

The directors quickly held a remote meeting that same day, and the discussion lasted deep into the night. The final result was: Jensen Huang was asked to resign, and he had no other choice.

At this point, Jensen Huang's 33-year career as NVIDIA's CEO came to an end. He also stepped down from the board of directors and no longer held any management or directorship positions.

In the last few hours before his resignation, according to descriptions from people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, Jensen Huang seemed to onlookers that he "had given up".

After Jensen Huang's resignation, a third extramarital affair was also exposed. According to Reuters, which learned from two people familiar with the matter, Jensen Huang once had an intimate relationship with a second employee other than Kimberly Powell. The media did not disclose the name of this (second) employee and failed to successfully contact her.

It is worth noting that multiple articles covering the board meeting on Wednesday night were co-written by Washington-based reporters — these reporters are not usually responsible for covering NVIDIA. The outside world thus speculates whether the White House had leaked information to the media to put pressure on Jensen Huang and force him to step down. The answers to these questions remain unconfirmed for now.

Response Emails Started to Slow Down

The impact of this scandal has also quietly seeped into the details of NVIDIA's daily operations.

NVIDIA adopts an atypical management structure: about 60 executives report directly to Jensen Huang. The company requires all employees to submit their top five most important work tasks via email for Jensen Huang to check the progress and priority.

In the past, Jensen Huang processed these emails almost around the clock, no matter day or night, and his replies were often very quick.

But Bloomberg's report pointed out that in the days before his resignation, his response speed slowed down significantly.

This detail reflects another description in Bloomberg's original report: Jensen Huang was once known for his attention to detail, and nothing was out of his control, "from chip architecture to the compensation plans of the most junior employees in the company".

Congress Testimony Awaits Him, He Says "I Don't Care Anymore"

Leaving the position of NVIDIA's CEO does not mean that Jensen Huang can disappear from the public eye.

According to Bloomberg's report, he is expected to go to the US Congress to testify next week on November 18. Members of Congress will focus on questioning his relationship with Alice Huang and whether this relationship has endangered the technical confidentiality of NVIDIA's advanced chips.

And according to people who have talked to Jensen Huang recently, he has claimed that he doesn't care what will happen to him next. He said that his biggest concern right now is his wife, and not to "ruin" the lives of those women who have been publicly linked to him because of this scandal.

NVIDIA, What's the Next Step

After Jensen Huang left, the biggest problem facing NVIDIA's board of directors is to find a successor in the true sense.

External potential candidates that the outside world is currently paying attention to include Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, and Rene Haas, CEO of Arm. The most frequently mentioned internal candidates are Ian Buck, who has worked at NVIDIA for 22 years and is widely regarded as the creator of CUDA, and Jonah Alben, senior vice president of GPU engineering.

At present, NVIDIA's veteran chief financial officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO. She will take the helm of NVIDIA temporarily while the company searches for Jensen Huang's successor. At the same time, the company has also appointed its first chairman in its history, 73-year-old director Harvey Jones, who previously served as the head of Synopsys Inc., a chip design software manufacturer.

After the news was announced, NVIDIA's stock price fell by about 10% to around $156, falling below its 52-week low, and its market value evaporated by about $420 billion in a single day. Many Wall Street investment banks immediately lowered their target prices, but the vast majority still maintained a buy rating, with the core logic that "orders are fully scheduled until 2028, and the fundamentals are safe in the short term".

But as Bloomberg pointed out, Jensen Huang used to take on multiple roles at the same time, including technology R&D, enterprise management, marketing, government lobbying and brand spokesperson, and it is hard to imagine anyone can completely fill this vacancy. And NVIDIA has never established a formal CEO succession plan before.

This article is from "Wall Street CN", Author: Long Yue, published with authorization by 36Kr.