Shares of Nvidia fell 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after new reports about longtime CEO Jensen Huang.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Nvidia board is preparing to oust Huang after a new report that Huang had a second extramarital affair in addition to the one he acknowledged on Sunday with a woman purported to be a Chinese spy. We have asked Nvidia for comment.
The WSJ said the board is preparing to meet as soon as today to determine his future, people familiar with the matter told the publication. That could mean a big shakeup for the entire AI industry, as Huang was the elder statesman of the AI boom.
But in the wake of stories in the New York Times, Huang on Sunday acknowledged to staff and the board that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologized for violating their trust. The affair that came to light was allegedly with Alice Huang, an exec at Singapore’s Megaspeed, a major Nvidia customer. The newspaper said U.S. intelligence officials believe is working for China’s intelligence services.
Then today, The New York Times earlier reported the second alleged affair with Kimberly Powell, vice president of healthcare at Nvidia. The NYT reported Huang and Powell were allegedly filmed being affectionate with each other at a hotel in San Jose, California, in March.
Nvidia’s board of directors expressed confidence in Huang’s ability to run the company on Sunday. But it has opened an independent investigation and hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to review the spying allegations.
The New York Times also said Republican leaders of three House committees have also asked Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing on his interactions with Alice Huang. China has denied the espionage claims.