A company that helped give machines the power to learn now finds its own leader's private life under the scrutiny of directors, reporters, and intelligence officials. Nvidia's chair-level board is weighing whether Jensen Huang, co-founder and face of the firm for more than three decades, should keep his post after admitting infidelity and facing questions about a possible foreign intelligence entanglement. The episode lands at a moment when the whole world is asking whether the vast spending on artificial intelligence will ever pay, and when chips made in Santa Clara sit at the center of a riv
Nvidia Shares Fall as Board Weighs Jensen Huang's Future Amid Affair Reports and Intelligence Probe
Nvidia has no succession plan in place
Mark
Why is this more than a personal scandal?
Mimi
Because of the intelligence angle. US officials suspect Alice Huang of ties to Chinese intelligence and of helping arrange chip shipments to Chinese companies. The board's probe asks whether Huang was targeted by a foreign operation.
Luke
Careful, though. Those are allegations and suspicions from officials, as reported. Nothing in this reporting shows the probe has found anything yet.
Mark
And the board decision itself?
Mimi
The Journal says directors may meet and weigh removing him. Bloomberg says they've met, are working with an outside firm on successors, and are considering an interim CEO.
Luke
Both rest on unnamed people familiar with the matter. No board statement confirms removal is coming. The board said earlier it had confidence in him.
Mark
What about the Kimberly Powell report?
Mimi
The Times cited five people who had worked at Nvidia. She reports directly to Huang, which is why it matters for governance. Huang cut off the call rather than answer.
Luke
Ending a call isn't a confirmation or a denial. The relationship is alleged, and he has only admitted infidelity in general terms.
Mark
Does Huang control the company?
Mimi
Less than you'd think. Family trusts hold about 800 million shares jointly with his wife, and he personally owns about 70 million.
Luke
That's CNBC's account. And the $600 billion loss is a week's move that also reflects AI spending worries after the midterms, so not all of it is about Huang.
Le Pouls
- Nvidia's shares slid nearly 8% after hours, with losses near $600 billion in market value this week alone.
- A board that publicly backed Huang now meets as soon as Wednesday to decide whether he stays as CEO.
- Allegations of a relationship with a businesswoman suspected by US intelligence of China links have turned a personal matter into a national-security question.
- A second reported affair involving a senior executive who reports directly to Huang has deepened the commotion inside the company.
- With no succession plan in place, the board is quietly searching for successors and weighing an interim CEO.
- The outcome hangs on the independent probe, the naming of a leader, and whether AI investors still believe in the trade.
A company that helped give machines the power to learn now finds its own leader's private life under the scrutiny of directors, reporters, and intelligence officials. Nvidia's chair-level board is weighing whether Jensen Huang, co-founder and face of the firm for more than three decades, should keep his post after admitting infidelity and facing questions about a possible foreign intelligence entanglement. The episode lands at a moment when the whole world is asking whether the vast spending on artificial intelligence will ever pay, and when chips made in Santa Clara sit at the center of a rivalry between the United States and China. What happens next will show whether a firm built on engineering certainty can absorb a very human failure without losing its footing.
On Wednesday evening, Nvidia's stock dropped nearly 8% in after-hours trading, and at one point more than 9%, after a Wall Street Journal report said the board was weighing whether Jensen Huang should remain chief executive. Directors could meet as soon as that day to decide. With that fall, the company had lost roughly $600 billion in value over the week, and was heading toward its sixth straight weekly decline.
The trouble began with reports about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom US intelligence officials suspect of links to China's intelligence services and of helping arrange chip shipments to Chinese companies. On Sunday, Huang told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife and took "full responsibility," offering no details. The same day, the board opened an investigation into whether he had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, overseen by independent directors with outside lawyers. The board had said it still had confidence in him.
Then came a New York Times report of a second alleged affair, this time with Kimberly Powell, a vice president who reports directly to Huang. When a reporter asked him about it, Huang said, "I don't think you should be talking to me directly," and ended the call. Bloomberg reported that the board is working with an outside firm to find successors and is considering an interim CEO. That would be a hard transition, since the company has no succession plan.
Huang's formal control is looser than his public image suggests, since much of his stake is held in family trusts with his wife. He co-founded Nvidia in 1993, built it from graphics chips for games into the processor engine of modern AI, and is known across the industry simply as Jensen. The selloff also reflects wider doubts about whether huge AI infrastructure spending will pay off, a worry sharpened by recent US midterm results that could make building data centres harder. The questions now are whether the board acts, who leads next, and what the investigation finds.
On Wednesday evening, Nvidia's stock slid nearly 8% in after-hours trading, and at one point it was down more than 9%, according to CNBC. The drop followed a Wall Street Journal report, attributed to people familiar with the matter, that the company's board is weighing whether Jensen Huang should remain chief executive. The report said directors could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide.
Including that fall, Nvidia has lost around $600 billion in market value this week, counting from the day its board announced an investigation into allegations about Huang's personal relationships. The chipmaker is valued at nearly $4 trillion. The stock was down about 7% for the week and heading for its sixth straight weekly decline.
The controversy began with reports about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman suspected by US intelligence officials of links to China's intelligence services. Those officials have also alleged that she helped arrange shipments of Nvidia chips to Chinese companies. On Sunday, Huang sent employees a message admitting he had been unfaithful to his wife and taking "full responsibility." He gave no details about the relationship. The same day, the board opened an investigation into whether he had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Independent directors are overseeing it with outside legal advisers, and the company has hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. When it announced the probe, the board expressed confidence in Huang.
The Wall Street Journal report arrived just minutes after The New York Times reported a second alleged affair, this one with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reports directly to Huang. The Times cited five people who had worked at Nvidia. Reached by phone on Wednesday and asked about Powell, Huang said, "I don't think you should be talking to me directly," and ended the call.
Bloomberg, also citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the board is working with an outside firm to identify potential successors and is considering an interim CEO while it searches for a permanent one. It said directors met Wednesday to discuss Huang's future. That would be a hard transition: according to the Journal, Nvidia has no succession plan in place.
Huang's formal grip on the company is looser than his public profile suggests. According to CNBC, about 800 million Nvidia shares are held by family trusts jointly with his wife, Lori Huang, while he personally owns around 70 million and has limited economic control.
He co-founded Nvidia in 1993 with Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky. The company first became known for graphics chips used in computer games. Its CUDA software later let its processors handle general computing, which paved the way into artificial intelligence. Its chips are now widely used to train AI models and run large workloads, and customers and rivals alike often refer to him simply as Jensen.
The selloff also reflects wider unease over whether the heavy spending on AI infrastructure will produce adequate returns. That trade was already under pressure last week after the US midterms, in which Democrats won majorities in both houses of Congress and dozens of ballot measures that could make building data centres harder passed.
What to watch now is whether the board acts, whether an interim CEO is named, and what the independent investigation concludes, all while Nvidia's chips sit at the center of both the AI industry and the US-China technology rivalry.
Citations marquantes
I don't think you should be talking to me directly.— Jensen Huang, to The New York Times, before ending the call
Huang admitted infidelity in a message to employees and took full responsibility.— Jensen Huang, message to Nvidia employees on Sunday
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