Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday amid a controversy involving an affair with a businesswoman suspected of working for the Chinese government.

Axar.az reports, citing The Associated Press, that the company appointed its chief financial officer, Colette Kress, as interim CEO. Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013, said she was committed to building on the foundation Huang had established during his 33 years at the company.

The controversy centres on Huang's reported relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International, who is suspected of being a Chinese government agent. The two are not related. US intelligence agencies concluded that she had been passing information to Beijing, while President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the FBI was investigating the matter.

Nvidia has said it had “no reason to believe” that national security or its confidential information had been compromised, but confirmed that its internal inquiry would examine all available information.

Singaporean authorities said they questioned Alice Huang and confiscated her passport last year during an investigation into Megaspeed. They concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish that she had committed a crime but barred her from returning to Singapore.

Megaspeed said it takes compliance with US export control laws seriously and is cooperating with the US Department of Commerce. The company has also hired a US law firm to conduct a comprehensive review of its computer chips and export controls.

Meanwhile, Nvidia shares fell 14% at the opening of trading on Thursday. The company's board also appointed entrepreneur and investor Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chairman.