The board of Nvidia may be taking steps to remove CEO Jensen Huang, and the news comes after a report that Huang had an extramarital affair with a subordinate, in addition to his dalliance with a Chinese spy.
The Wall Street Journal was reporting Wednesday afternoon that Nvidia's board was preparing to meet "as soon as today" regarding the future of CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang.
This news comes shortly after the New York Times published new reporting that Huang conducted an extramarital affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care. Five people at the company reportedly confirmed this affair, and the Times said it had viewed video of Huang and Powell being affectionate during an Nvidia conference at a San Jose hotel in March.
The news of this second dalliance arrives days after Huang was internationally embarrassed by the revelation that he had been the target of a Chinese honeypot spy scheme.
Huang reportedly had this other affair around two years ago with a woman named Alice Huang (no relation), who was recruited as an asset by China’s Ministry of State Security to collect intelligence on AI technology from Jensen Huang. The Times reported last week that Huang and Huang were photographed together at an event in Taipei in 2024, though it's not clear when the two first met.
Jensen Huang acknowledged the affair in a mea culpa memo to Nvidia employees over the weekend, saying, "My actions hurt [my wife] and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry."
On Sunday, Nvidia's board was still expressing cautious support for Huang, saying in a statement, "While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board's inquiry will examine all available information."
Huang's massive fortune, much of which is tied up in Nvidia stock, could become the center of a very public divorce, should his wife Lori Huang decide to leave him — and as SFist noted on Monday, multiple news sources have said that the Huangs do not have a prenuptial agreement.
As the Journal notes, Jensen Huang has been "the face of the AI arms race" for several years, attending conferences around the globe, and his ousting would represent a major fall from grace.
The Times says it was able to reach Huang by phone on Wednesday, and he said, "I don’t think you should be talking to me directly," and hung up.
Previously: No Known Prenup Could Leave Nvidia CEO’s Wife With $63 Billion Divorce Settlement
