Nvidia is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang, WSJ reports

Nvidia’s board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang after he had two extramarital affairs, including one with a suspected Chinese spy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The board is preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine his future, the report added.

Earlier in the day, the New York Times reported that Huang had an extramarital affair with a company executive who reported to him.

The relationship was with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, the New York Times said, citing five people who worked at the company.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.

The reports on Wednesday come days after Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife, as Nvidia’s board investigates whether he was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.

The latest revelation escalates a controversy that has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers, investors and Nvidia’s board over Huang’s conduct and his relationship with Alice Huang, a woman who US intelligence has said has facilitated shipments of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms.

Nvidia’s shares were down about 8% in after-hours trading. The stock has lost more than US$300 billion in market value since news of the affair with Alice Huang broke.

Huang’s potential exit would create a leadership vacuum at the US$4 trillion company that has become a focal point in the US-China race for AI supremacy with its dominance in chips used to train models and power services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.