Jensen Huang’s future rests in the balance as Nvidia board reportedly meet
Nvidia's board is meeting to decide whether to oust CEO Jensen Huang, a source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency, as the world's dominant supplier of AI processors grapples with reports of two extramarital affairs involving its longtime â leader.
The reports mark a sharp escalation in a controversy that began with revelations about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a woman US intelligence has said was involved in facilitating shipments of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms.
In a memo to employees on Sunday, Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and took “full responsibility,†but gave no details about the relationship.
Huang, 63, has â no obvious successor and owns about 3.6% of Nvidia's stock. He also has dozens of direct reports, underscoring the tight control he maintains over the company.
The company's shares slid about 8% in ​after-hours trading after the Wall Street Journal first reported that Nvidia was preparing to oust Huang. ‌Including Wednesday's after-hours selloff, Nvidia has lost about $600bn ‌in stock market value this week since the board announced its investigation into his relationship with a Chinese businesswoman.
Earlier in the day, the New York Times reported that Huang had also had ‌an extramarital affair with a company executive who reported to him.
Key events
“If Jensen Huang is forced out, I would expect Nvidia shares to underperform for a period,†said Michael Feldman, portfolio manager at ClearBridge Investments.
double quotation mark Nvidia was already facing an unusually demanding expectations bar. The stock was not expensive, but its earnings outlook depended on confidence in exceptional growth and near-flawless execution across the entire AI ecosystem. Jensen has set a very ambitious framework, including roughly 70% year-on-year growth next year. A new CEO will likely want to establish credibility by setting a more conservative bar.The risk is not that Nvidia suddenly loses its technology roadmap, that roadmap is largely visible for the next several years. The risk is execution. Jensen has been the chief conductor of an extraordinarily complex system spanning employees, foundry and packaging partners, memory suppliers, systems companies, cloud customers and the financing mechanisms supporting AI deployment. In a world with real bottlenecks, that coordination is a competitive advantage in itself.
I would also watch the financing architecture behind AI demand: leasing, customer financing and Nvidia's investments across the ecosystem. Those arrangements are increasingly important in translating demand into deployed capacity and reported revenue.
So, this is not principally a valuation problem, it is a confidence problem. The long-term AI story remains intact: Nvidia still has the industry's most powerful integrated stack across compute, networking and software, and the valuation offers some support. But the stock could move from a Jensen premium to an execution discount until new leadership proves it can deliver.
In pre-market trading, US chipmakers Intel, Marvell Technology and Micron are down between 1.8% and 2.7%, while AI infrastructure company CoreWeave slid 5.7%. The Nasdaq-listed Dutch company Nebius reversed earlier losses to trade 1% higher.
The declines, if maintained when Wall Street opens, would wipe out Wednesday's gains, when strong results from CoreWeave, an American specialised GPU cloud-computing provider, lifted AI stocks.
AI stocks have seen wild swings, also because the Democrats' victory in midterm elections intensified concerns about a slowdown in datacentre development that could lead to a wider economic slowdown – while some investors see the pullback as a buying opportunity. Seven in 10 Americans are opposed to the construction of new datacentres for artificial intelligence in their local area. Some Republicans have also endorsed a moratorium on new datacentres, which consume vast amounts of energy and water and lead to pollution.
Last night, we reported that Nvidia appointed a leading US law firm to conduct a “thorough and independent†investigation into the relationship between its chief executive, Jensen Huang, and an alleged Chinese spy.
The $4.1tn (£3tn) chipmaker's board has hired New York-based Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for the investigation, which will be led by the Wachtell partner Joon Kim. The firm's website describes Kim, a former government prosecutor in New York, as a specialist in areas including internal investigations, white-collar criminal and regulatory defence, and crisis management.
A committee of independent board directors, assisted by Kim and Wachtell, will oversee the investigation.
Global markets are struggling to maintain yesterday's attempted recovery, with renewed uncertainty surrounding Nvidia weighing on sentiment towards technology stocks, said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at capital.com.
double quotation mark Wall Street enjoyed a strong session on Wednesday supported by improving confidence in AI demand. However, US futures have turned lower this morning, with Nasdaq futures particularly vulnerable as investors reassess the risks surrounding one of the most influential companies in the AI investment cycle.
Asian markets were also down, highlighting how fragile the recovery remains despite encouraging signs of demand for AI infrastructure.
The biggest development is the escalation of the controversy surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Reports that Nvidia's board is considering his future at a board meeting last night have transformed what initially appeared to be a reputational issue into a significant leadership risk. Nvidia shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading, raising concerns about the potential disruption to the company's strategy.
Hathorn said:
double quotation mark Huang has been central to Nvidia's growth and its relationships with major AI customers, meaning an unexpected leadership change could create uncertainty at an already sensitive moment for the sector. However, no departure has been confirmed, and Nvidia's board has previously stated that it has no reason to believe company secrets were compromised.The wider concern is that Nvidia's leadership uncertainty could undermine confidence in the AI trade just as investors were beginning to regain some optimism about its fundamentals.
Recent developments at CoreWeave and strong demand surrounding Anthropic's potential IPO suggest appetite for AI investment remains substantial. However, the controversy raises questions about governance, succession planning and potentially US-China technology relations. If the investigation uncovers evidence of compromised intellectual property, the consequences could extend beyond Nvidia to semiconductor manufacturers and cloud infrastructure providers.
For now, this remains a potential risk rather than an established outcome. With Nvidia's earnings approaching on 17 November, investors face the unusual challenge of assessing strong underlying demand alongside uncertainty over the company's leadership.
US stock futures are down, pointing to a lower open on Wall Street later.
The S&P 500 is seen opening 0.4% lower while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is set to fell 0.85%, and Dow futures are flat.
Nvidia shares are now down about 7% in Frankfurt. About $600bn have been wiped off the US chipmaker's market value since the board announced an investigation into longtime boss Jensen Huang's relationship with a businesswoman, Alice Huang, who is alleged to be a Chinese spy. On Sunday, he admitted to cheating on his wife with the mysterious Shanghai executive.
Under the company's bylaws, Jensen Huang can be removed “with or without cause†by a majority vote of directors. Nvidia has 11 directors and considers all but Huang independent.
Meanwhile, the US news website Axios is reporting that Donald Trump on Thursday authorised a crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia's advanced AI chips to China for the third time this year — and he even consulted Elon Musk before giving the go-ahead.
But one administration official repeatedly stood in the way: Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, Axios reported.
The Nvidia board met last night after the second revelation about Jensen Huang.
In a sharp shift from Sunday when it expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team, the board met to discuss his future after it was reported by the New York Times that Huang had a separate extramarital affair with a company employee called Kimberly Powell.
She was Nvidia's president of healthcare and was reportedly captured on video being affectionate with Huang at a hotel during a company conference in March.
Farewell Jensen, said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at the investing and trading platform IG.
double quotation mark One of the most impressive careers is set to end. Huang might have been able somehow to cling on at Nvidia after one revelation (though news about chip shipments made that doubtful), but after two, one of which involving a direct report, his fate is sealed.Nvidia's shares are moving rapidly to price in a post-Jensen world, and this is weighing on tech stocks globally. Nvidia is much bigger than one man now, but this isn't the way anyone thought it would happen, and denies the company the chance to set up an orderly transition. The question is now whether this news torpedoes the renewed tech rally.
Germany's Dax also reached a new all-time high, climbing more than 1% in early trading.
The Frankfurt exchange surged 283 points to 26,944, up 1.06%.
Nvidia shares have fallen nearly 6% in Frankfurt, after reports that its board has met to decide whether to oust its longtime chief executive Jensen Huang.
However, European shares hit a record high, lifted by strong financial results from companies for the third quarter, and the recent sharp drop in energy prices.
While Brent crude is up slightly today at $93.27 a barrel, 0.55% higher on the day, it's well off the highs seen in recent weeks above $100 a barrel.
The Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3% to hit a fresh all-time high, beating its previous record set in August.
In London, the FTSE 100 index is 28 points ahead at 10,863, up 0.26%.
Who could potentially replace Jensen Huang if Nvidia ousts him?
Jonathan Yerushalmy
Jensen Huang has led Nvidia since it was founded in 1993, but with the CEO now unexpectedly on the backfoot, and with no known successor in the wings, the field is wide open should the board decide to oust Huang.
Agence France-Presse has looked at some of the names being suggested most frequently as Huang's potential successor.
Internal hire
With more than 40,000 employees, Nvidia could opt to go with an in-house pick to take the helm, including one of Huang's dozens of direct reports.
Tech publications frequently cited Nvidia's chief financial officer Colette Kress as an easy choice. Another longtime Nvidia executive is Ian Buck, who oversees the company's datacentre clients.
Business magazine Inc. also lists Nvidia's vice-president of applied deep learning research, Bryan Catanzano, as a possible pick.
A family affair
Huang could also try to position a member of his own family as his replacement. His daughter Madison Huang is currently the senior director of product marketing at Nvidia and is among the names most suggested by analysts.
His son Spencer Huang could also be a potential successor. He currently works at Nvidia as the director of product management in the company's robotics division.
Huang's cousin, Lisa Su, could also be a viable candidate for selection; she is the longtime CEO of semiconductor giant AMD.
Tech CEO swap
Su is not the only tech chief being bandied around as a possible replacement for Huang.
Rene Haas, CEO of UK chip design firm Arm, is another candidate being suggested by the tech press.
Speculation runs wide in Silicon Valley: former Apple CEO Tim Cook – who stepped down from leading the tech company in August after 15 years at the helm – is another person insiders say could be tapped.
Nvidia shares plunge nearly 9% in pre-market trading, reverberating across Asian markets
Global stocks are in decline, as a near-9% plunge in Nvidia shares in extended trading sent waves across Asian markets, on news that its board may oust longtime CEO Jensen Huang.
Nvidia shares fell as much as 8.8% in pre-market trading in New York, wiping another $360bn off the company's value. That takes losses this week to $640bn, a 14% decline.
Asian stock markets are a sea of red. Japan's Nikkei is down 0.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.3% and South Korea's Kospi fell nearly 0.6%, while Taiwan's benchmark index tumbled 2.6%.
In China, the Shenzhen Composite slid 1.6% and the CSI 300 dropped 0.87%.
Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Bank in Singapore, said:
double quotation mark Nvidia sits at the centre of an increasingly interconnected AI ecosystem. Its turmoil comes when financing, hyperscaler capex, valuations and â returns on AI investment were already under scrutiny.
Nvidia's board reportedly met late Wednesday to decide whether to oust Huang, after he admitted to an affair with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang. Beijing has rejected the spying allegations.
The New York Times has reported that Huang also had an affair with a company executive who reported to ‌him.
Jake Dollarhide, chief executive at Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told Reuters:
double quotation mark It looks bad from every single angle. I believe the board won't oust him until they have an all-star, a known entity in the tech sector, to replace him.At the end of the day, let's not forget that the Nvidia chip is the centrepiece of the AI story.
It's not yet clear who might replace Huang as CEO. In the meantime, Chinese domestic GPU makers surged on Thursday amid expectations that Nvidia's troubles could help local chip suppliers win greater market share.
Chinese AI firms ‌are reportedly rushing to secure Nvidia chip capacity, fearing that the US could cut them off in the wake of the scandal.
Good morning, readers. Julia Kollewe in London is now taking over from Jonathan Yerushalmy in Sydney.
A Chinese university with close ties to the country's defence bodies recently bought advanced AI chips made by Nvidia, procurement notices show, despite stringent US controls.
Agence France-Presse reported that Northwestern Polytechnical University in the city of Xi'an purchased two Nvidia H200 chips from Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology – not Nvidia directly – for $131,200), according to a procurement notice dated 21 October.
H200 chips are subject to US export controls that limit direct shipments to China and apply certain restrictions on their resale globally.
The spotlight is already on Nvidia's relationship with China this week after the news of Jensen Huang's extramarital affair with a woman accused of spying for Beijing.
China and the United States are locked in a fierce competition for supremacy in the AI field, and Nvidia's market-leading products have become a major point of contention.
We're pausing our live coverage now – but you can read the latest report on Nvidia and Jensen Huang's future as CEO here.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that it would “be an honour†to hire Jensen Huang, in a response to a poster making the suggestion on X.
Musk has been among the more prominent supporters of the embattled Nvidia CEO, after it was revealed he was facing an internal investigation over a romantic relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.
On Wednesday he indicated that he agreed with a suggestion from AI investor Gavin Baker that Nvidia's board should “wait for the results of the investigation before ousting Jensen.â€
More now on the call from two Democratic Senators for the Trump administration to preserve all documents tied to Nvidia's chip â exports to China.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Warren â and Chris Coons wrote in a letter to commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, secretary of state Marco Rubio and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller:
double quotation mark This ‌incident raises significant ‌concerns about the federal government's ability to effectively enforce our export ‌controls and protect our national security.â€
double quotation mark Questions also remain â regarding whether or not prudent defensive counter-intelligence action was taken ​or national security ​recommendations were overruled.â€
Warren and Coons also requested a congressional ​briefing on the national ‌security risks ​posed by ​the suspected intelligence operation.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been one of the poster boys for the AI revolution, because his company's chips are essential for the technology. But the $4tn company had more humble beginnings.
Huang was born in Taiwan and then spent some time in Thailand because his father moved the family there for work. His parents then sent him to live with an uncle in the US when he was 9, along with his older brother. Huang's parents later came to the US and the family reunited in Oregon, where he attended high school, graduating early after skipping two grades.
At Oregon State University, Huang studied electrical engineering in a class that had about 250 students, only three of whom were women, including his future wife, Lori, who was on his lab team.
The couple went on to work as chip designers in Silicon Valley, with Huang earning his graduate degree from Stanford University in 1992.
Nvidia got its start when three engineers – Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem – gathered in 1993 at a Denny's diner in San Jose, California, in what is now the heart of Silicon Valley.
Huang worked at a Denny's restaurant when he was young and has spoken about how working there helped him overcome his shyness and to learn the value of hard work. On his LinkedIn profile he lists only two work experiences – as Nvidia's founder and CEO, and as a dishwasher, busboy and waiter at Denny's.
At that first meeting, the three men discussed building a computer chip that would make graphics for video games faster and more realistic. That conversation, and ones that followed, led to the founding of Nvidia.
Nvidia's specialised graphics processing units (GPUs) were designed to rapidly process computer graphics for video games, but are now also widely used to power the booming spread of artificial intelligence systems.
Huang is now one of the world's wealthiest people, with a personal fortune that Forbes estimates at more than $150bn.
Alice Huang – the woman accused of spying for Beijing during an affair with Jensen Huang – visited Taiwan a total of eight times in 2024 and 2025, a Taiwanese government minister said Thursday.
Chiu Chui-cheng, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) minister, made the remarks in parliament in response to lawmakers' questions about a New York Times report that the US had advised Taiwan as early as 2024 to monitor her movements.
Taiwan, a dominant player in the global semiconductor industry, sits at the centre of strategic competition between the US and China, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory.
Huang has admitted to having an extramarital affair, reportedly with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed who US officials believe was working for Chinese intelligence. Beijing has rejected the spying allegations.
Alice Huang, who is also known as Huang Le, used a Hong Kong passport to enter Taiwan “under a standard business visitor status†and there were “no special flags†about her at the time, Chiu said.
“At least we at the Mainland Affairs Council did not receive any relevant information,†Chiu said.
double quotation mark If we had, we definitely would have stepped up our entry screening and border flow management. If we had any of the kind of critical intelligence … we would have definitely flagged her for heightened review,†Chiu said.
The government has said Taiwan's security agencies are investigating the incident.
