Nvidia’s board of directors convened on Wednesday to deliberate on whether to remove Jensen Huang as chief executive officer, following reports that the company is preparing to dismiss the co-founder of the world's most valuable semiconductor maker. The meeting represents a sharp shift from Sunday, when the board had expressed confidence in Huang’s leadership team, before disclosures of a second extramarital affair further compromised his standing.
The chief executive's position deteriorated late Wednesday after a report by the New York Times revealed that Huang had engaged in a separate extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s president of healthcare. Powell was reportedly captured on video demonstrating affection toward Huang at a hotel during a company conference held in March. News from the Wall Street Journal that Nvidia was preparing to fire Huang sent the company's stock down more than 8% in after-hours trading.
If those market losses persist, Nvidia will have lost approximately $685 billion (£516 billion) in market capitalization since the board initially opened an inquiry into Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a businesswoman accused of being a Chinese spy. “The market is starting to price Nvidia without its founder as the likely outcome, not a tail risk,” said Armina Rosenberg, portfolio manager and co-founder of Minotaur Capital, which holds shares in the firm. US technology analyst Dan Ives similarly remarked that Nvidia “likely now has to move on without Jensen at the helm”.
Under Nvidia’s corporate bylaws, the chief executive can be removed with or without cause through a simple majority vote of the directors. The board comprises 11 directors, all of whom are considered independent with the exception of Huang. Earlier in the week, the independent directors appointed law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the affair, instructing Huang to continue leading Nvidia while the probe proceeded.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has been its visionary leader. His departure would leave a significant executive vacancy during an intense period of artificial intelligence competition between the United States and China. Huang maintains an unusual management structure featuring dozens of direct reports, which reinforces his tight operational control, and he has no clear successor. Owning more than 870 million shares, or roughly 3.6% of Nvidia, Huang ranks as the world’s 13th richest person on Bloomberg's index, with an estimated net worth of $148 billion.
The broader artificial intelligence industry relies heavily on Nvidia, which holds a market capitalization of over $4 trillion. The company designs advanced microchips essential for training AI models and supplying technology companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
The scrutiny surrounding Huang began after details emerged regarding his connection to Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based data center firm Megaspeed, which utilizes Nvidia microprocessors. Although Jensen Huang acknowledged an extramarital relationship in an email sent to employees on Sunday and promised full cooperation with the internal probe, he did not name Alice Huang directly. Donald Trump stated that the chief executive denied having any knowledge that she allegedly worked for the Chinese government. Over the past few years, Jensen Huang and Alice Huang were seen together globally at public dining locations and corporate meetings.
Addressing the matter on Thursday, Chiu Chui-cheng, minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, stated that Alice Huang had entered Taiwan a total of eight times across 2024 and 2025. Responding to a New York Times report that the US had recommended Taiwanese authorities monitor her as early as 2024, Chiu noted there were “no special flags” regarding her visits at that time, adding that “if we had any of the kind of critical intelligence … we would have definitely flagged her for heightened review.”
Huang, who has been married to his wife, Lori, since 1985, saw Nvidia's board announce on Sunday that it had initiated an internal investigation into reports suggesting he was the focus of a foreign intelligence operation. Despite the controversy, several prominent figures have expressed support for him. Donald Trump praised Huang as an “honorable guy” who has done “an incredible job.” Additionally, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded on X early Thursday when asked if he would hire Huang, writing, “That would be an honour”.
Congressional leaders in Washington have also taken action. Late Wednesday, Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons urged the Trump administration to preserve all records related to Nvidia's semiconductor exports to China. In a joint letter sent to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the lawmakers stated, “This incident raises significant concerns about the federal government’s ability to effectively enforce our export controls and protect our national security.” Nvidia did not immediately return a request for comment.
