Nvidia’s board is meeting late on Wednesday to decide whether to remove Jensen Huang as chief executive, according to reports that sent the chipmaker’s shares down more than 8 per cent in after-hours trading. The Wall Street Journal reported that directors are preparing to oust the 63-year-old co-founder, who has led the company for more than three decades, after he had two extramarital affairs — one with a woman US authorities believe is a Chinese intelligence asset and another with an Nvidia executive who reported to him. Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter, confirmed that the board was meeting to decide his fate.
The second affair was reported by The New York Times earlier on Wednesday. The first involves Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed who is not related to Mr Huang. US officials concluded last year that she passed information to Beijing while working with Nvidia to build data centres in Asia. China has rejected the claim as groundless, and no evidence has been made public that Mr Huang knowingly took part in any intelligence activity. Neither Mr Huang nor Ms Huang has been charged with any crime, and the espionage allegations remain unproven.
Mr Huang acknowledged on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife, apologising to staff for violating their trust. The same day, Nvidia’s board announced an independent investigation into reports that he had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, while saying it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised and expressing confidence in his leadership. That position now appears to have shifted: the Journal reported that directors are preparing to remove him, and betting markets moved sharply, with Polymarket putting the odds of Mr Huang leaving by the end of the year at 77 per cent.
The crisis has already battered the world’s most valuable chipmaker. Shares have fallen about 17.5 per cent in five trading days, wiping roughly $1.7 trillion from its market value since early October, and the after-hours slide dragged S&P 500 futures 0.4 per cent lower. Bernstein became the latest broker to downgrade the stock on Wednesday, cutting it to market perform and halving its price target to $200, a day after Baird slashed its target from $500 to $200. “It looks bad from every single angle,” Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, told Reuters, though he added that he doubted the board would act until it had a successor lined up.
Pressure is also coming from Washington. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI is investigating Mr Huang’s relationship with Ms Huang, hours after shareholders sued Nvidia and its chief executive for allegedly concealing the affair. Three Republican chairs of House committees have summoned Mr Huang to a closed-door briefing on 18 November. Nvidia is due to report third-quarter results on 17 November, its first scheduled public test since the investigation was announced.
No decision has been announced. The reports of an imminent ouster rest on unnamed sources, and Nvidia has not confirmed that the board has reached any conclusion about Mr Huang’s future.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal — “Nvidia Is Preparing to Oust CEO Jensen Huang” (https://www.wsj.com/business/nvidia-is-preparing-to-oust-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-30f421ad); Reuters — “Asian stocks fragile, Nvidia plummets as board to decide CEO’s fate” (https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-1-2026-11-12/)
