India, March 13 -- Shantanu Narayen, chief executive of Adobe Inc. and one of the longest-serving leaders in Silicon Valley, has resigned, amid deepening investor scepticism over existence in an AI era.

Narayen, 62, will remain as Adobe CEO until a successor is appointed and will continue to serve as board chairman, the San Jose, California-based company said in a statement. The surprise transition overshadows a quarterly fiscal report that beat analyst estimates but failed to calm nerves about a stock that has been in a freefall for much of the last two years.

The shares tumbled about 7% in extended trading following the announcement. The stock has declined roughly 23% in 2026 alone, hitting its lowest levels in three years as "AI upst...