Nvidia's board is preparing to remove co-founder and chief executive Jensen Huang, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, in a dramatic escalation of the crisis engulfing the chipmaker.
According to the Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter, the board could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide Huang's future. No final decision has been confirmed, and Nvidia has not announced any change at the top.
The report landed minutes after The New York Times reported that Huang had a second extramarital relationship — this time with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, who reported directly to him. Five people who worked at the company spoke to the Times about the relationship; two of them said the pair were captured on video being affectionate at a hotel in San Jose in March, during GTC, Nvidia's annual developer conference. The Times said it has not seen the video.
A second affair, days after the first admission
The latest report follows an extraordinary weekend for the world's most valuable chipmaker. On Sunday, Huang admitted in a memo to staff that he had been unfaithful to his wife, days after the Times reported that US intelligence officials believe a woman he had a relationship with — Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore data-centre company Megaspeed — was working for China's Ministry of State Security.
Megaspeed is one of Nvidia's biggest customers in Southeast Asia, having bought more than $4.8 billion worth of its chips over two years, according to the Times. On November 8, the same day as Huang's apology, Nvidia's board said a committee of independent directors would investigate reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
The board appointed former US attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to run the independent investigation, and said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised. The Journal reported that the board could act before that investigation finishes.
Shares slide as investors weigh a future without Huang
Investors reacted swiftly. Nvidia shares fell 8.4 percent in after-hours trading as of 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, erasing a 2.9 percent gain from the regular session. The stock had already dropped 9.5 percent across Monday and Tuesday, and was down 27 percent from a peak in early October at Wednesday's close.
The sell-off stands in contrast to the rest of the chip sector: shares of Advanced Micro Devices rose 3.75 percent in after-hours trading, while Broadcom gained 2.7 percent, according to CNN.
The company, which he co-founded more than three decades ago, sits at the centre of the AI infrastructure build-out, supplying the chips that power most of the world's leading AI models.
What happens next
Under Nvidia's bylaws, directors can remove a corporate officer at any time, with or without cause, by a majority vote — meaning the board has the authority to act even though its investigation has not concluded. Huang, who owns about 3.6 percent of the company's shares, would remain a director unless shareholders voted separately to remove him from the board.
Nvidia has not named a successor, and no public succession plan exists. The company is due to report third-quarter earnings on November 17, and Huang has been asked to appear at a closed-door briefing with House committee chairs the following day.
Nvidia did not respond to requests for comment. The story is developing, and the board's decision — if it comes this week — will shape not only Nvidia's leadership but the wider AI industry that depends on its chips.
