President Donald Trump is publicly urging Nvidia to hire former Apple chief Tim Cook as its next CEO, following the abrupt resignation of company co-founder Jensen Huang on Thursday. Trump praised Huang’s record at the chipmaker while making the recommendation.
Cook stepped down as Apple’s CEO in September after 15 years in the role and remains with the company as executive chairman. Neither Cook nor Apple responded immediately to requests for comment from Reuters. Trump and Cook have a history of public interactions; last year, after Apple committed another $100 billion to U.S. manufacturing, Cook gave Trump a U.S.-made plaque mounted on a 24-karat gold stand.
Huang’s resignation as Nvidia’s president, CEO and board member took effect immediately. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement, considering both internal and external candidates.
Allegations Preceded the Resignation
On Sunday, Huang emailed Nvidia employees acknowledging he had been unfaithful to his wife. He apologized and said he would cooperate with a board investigation. Directors are examining reports that Chinese intelligence sought to compromise Huang through Alice Huang, who held a senior position at one of Nvidia’s business partners. Beijing has denied she worked for Chinese intelligence.
By Wednesday, a second allegation had emerged. The New York Times reported that Huang also allegedly had a relationship with an Nvidia executive who reported directly to him.
Nvidia’s cloud partner Megaspeed became affiliated with the company just days after a firm controlled by Alice Huang sold it to a Singapore shell company, according to prior reporting. That partnership gave Megaspeed preferred access to Nvidia chips. When Nvidia’s board announced its inquiry Sunday, it addressed what it currently understands about any potential breach.
“While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information.”
Congress Wants Answers
Before the resignation, three Republican House committee chairmen had already requested that Jensen Huang brief them behind closed doors on Nov. 18 regarding his dealings with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s safeguards against foreign espionage. That request was sent last week, while Huang was still running the company.
Bloomberg has reported that Megaspeed rents Nvidia computing power to Chinese tech giant Alibaba through data centers in Southeast Asia. Nvidia has said it investigated allegations that Megaspeed diverted chips to China and found them unfounded.
With Huang no longer running the company, lawmakers still have reason to press ahead with the Nov. 18 meeting, seeking details on who approved the Megaspeed partnership, what vetting occurred before preferred chip access was granted, and what review took place afterward.
