SANTA CLARA, California / CryptoWire.AI / – Jensen Huang’s sudden exit from Nvidia has sparked concern among crypto and AI founders about the future of open-source artificial intelligence. Nvidia announced on Thursday, November 12, that its co-founder had resigned as chief executive and board member after 33 years. Finance chief Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO and remain chief financial officer. Board chair Harvey Jones said the board had full confidence in Kress and the leadership team.
The resignation came four days after Huang admitted in a message to employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife. Reports had linked him to several relationships, including one with a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence officials reportedly suspected of ties to China. Nvidia said it had no reason to believe its secrets or national security were compromised, and an independent investigation remains underway. Beijing has dismissed the allegations as baseless smears.
Nvidia stock dropped as much as 14% after Thursday’s open, then trimmed its losses to close 4.3% lower at $166.19. The fall left the chipmaker behind Apple and Microsoft by market value on Thursday morning. Bernstein cut its price target on the shares from $400 to $200, CNBC reported. Investors will look to the company’s earnings report on November 17 for signs of how the business is coping without its founder.
Founders defend Huang’s legacy
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said it was a mistake for Nvidia to let Huang resign. Dan Held, a Bitcoin entrepreneur, said Huang should not have stepped down. Venice AI founder Erik Voorhees went further, describing the move as a coup and arguing there was no evidence the woman was a spy. Perplexity chief Aravind Srinivas thanked Huang for 33 years of bold leadership. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called it a sad day for developers and America.
Voorhees, whose Venice platform offers private access to open models, also asked whether a decentralized Hugging Face exists yet. The question reflects concern over Nvidia’s planned $12.9 billion purchase of Hugging Face, the largest hub for open AI models. The deal, announced in September, is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval. The U.S. Justice Department has asked about its impact on competition, Reuters reported in October.
Open-weight debate intensifies
Some developers see Huang as the industry’s most powerful corporate champion of open-weight models, whose parameters can be run outside the companies that built them. Jun Song, an open-source advocate, alleged that OpenAI and Anthropic had lobbied to restrict open weights. Decrypt noted that the claim lacks evidence. OpenAI later signed a letter supporting open weights, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said his company had never called for a ban.
Concerns in Washington have focused on security, amid long-running U.S. curbs on AI chip exports to China. Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota had pushed for Huang’s exit, warning of possible blackmail. Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue said his company would keep fighting for open-source AI harder than ever. Bitcoin investor Anthony Pompliano said open-source AI is essential to the freedom of billions. Nvidia’s board is now searching inside and outside the company for a permanent chief executive.