Nvidia ‘preparing to oust’ Jensen Huang, allegation of second affair emerges

Résumé détaillé

Nvidia’s board is believed to be meeting to discuss the future of its founder and CEO following reports of multiple extramarital affairs, including one with a suspected Chinese spy.

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

The board was meeting on Thursday afternoon (AEDT) to determine his future, according to reports, in a move that risks major disruption to the $US4.1 trillion ($6 trillion) chip company that is vital to artificial intelligence development.

The company has been working with an outside firm to identify potential replacements for Huang and is weighing the idea of naming a temporary chief while searching for a permanent one, according to Bloomberg.

The New York Times reported that Huang, 63, had engaged in the second affair with one of his subordinates, 48-year-old Kimberly Powell. She is Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare. Nvidia’s code of conduct instructs staff to avoid situations that could create conflict, including “personal relationships”.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The reports come days after Huang acknowledged having been unfaithful to his wife of more than 40 years, Lori Huang, as Nvidia’s board investigates whether he was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.

The woman who US intelligence agencies concluded had targeted Huang is called Alice Huang (no relation).

Nvidia’s shares were down about 7 per cent in after-hours trading on the ousting report. If that is reflected when the market opens in New York, it would represent a hit of about $US300 billion to the value of the company and about $US10 billion to Jensen Huang’s net worth on paper.

Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 and first built it into a successful maker of graphics cards before pivoting to artificial intelligence. Its chips in that sector are the best in the world, making them crucial in the geopolitical race for AI dominance.

The United States has restricted the sale of cutting-edge Nvidia chips to China.

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