Nvidia Board Weighs Ousting Jensen Huang After $600 Billion Slide

By Amara Osei

Reuters reported that Nvidia shares fell roughly 8% after hours Wednesday, extending a slide that erased about $600 billion in market value since the board announced its investigation Sunday. The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s board was preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to decide co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s future.

How far has Nvidia’s stock fallen?

The Hill reported that Nvidia stock dipped below $160, a level not seen since June 2025. The Hill also noted that Huang, 63, has led Nvidia since its 1993 founding; Reuters described Nvidia as a roughly $4 trillion chipmaker that dominates the AI accelerator market.

What did Huang acknowledge?

In a Sunday memo to employees, Huang acknowledged that he had been “unfaithful to my wife” and accepted responsibility without naming the woman. He linked his infidelity to “the national security concerns raised in news reports” and said he would cooperate with a board investigation overseen by independent directors and outside counsel from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

Who was Alice Huang?

The New York Times reported in late October that U.S. intelligence officials believed Alice Huang, who is unrelated to Jensen Huang, was a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security. She was a former Megaspeed executive; the Singapore-based AI infrastructure company purchased billions of dollars in Nvidia chips.

U.S. and Singaporean authorities have investigated Megaspeed since 2025 over suspicions it facilitated Chinese companies’ access to Nvidia chips, including by renting computing power to Alibaba, according to the Times.

What does the second allegation add?

On Wednesday, the Times cited five current or former Nvidia employees in alleging that Huang had a second extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, who reports directly to him. Powell joined Nvidia in 2008, has led the healthcare group since 2017 and is married, the Times reported.

The Times reported that Huang and Powell were captured on camera being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during a company conference in March. It said a security guard sequestered them and offered a nondisclosure agreement. Nvidia, Huang and Powell did not respond to requests for comment from multiple outlets; Reuters said it could not independently verify the reports.

What is Congress pressing for?

Reuters reported that on or about Nov. 4, Republican chairs of three House committees—John Moolenaar (Select Committee on China), Brian Mast (Foreign Affairs) and Rick Crawford (Intelligence)—requested a closed-door briefing from Huang about his relationship with Alice Huang.

Moolenaar told Fox Business on Wednesday that Huang had until 5 p.m. ET to agree to the briefing or face likely subpoenas. Reuters reported that a Mast spokesperson said he was open to issuing a subpoena if Huang did not respond.

Reuters reported that lawmakers cited the affair as evidence current export controls on advanced chips to China were insufficient. Former White House AI adviser Ben Buchanan argued the case intensified the need for stricter enforcement, including reinstating the “diffusion rule” that the Trump administration rescinded in May 2025.

What support has Huang received?

The Hill reported that President Donald Trump, who has called Huang an ally, voiced support on Sunday. “I just know he’s a fine person, but you never know what is going on,” Trump told reporters. Asked whether Huang should remain CEO, he added, “I think so. Oh yeah, sure.” Trump said he had not discussed the allegations with Huang.

Can Nvidia replace Huang?

Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson told Reuters: “Huang being removed immediately could be challenging for Nvidia since it does not have a succession plan in place.” His warning reflected analysts’ and governance experts’ view that the missing succession plan leaves Nvidia exposed.

The New York Times reported that Huang runs a flat organization with roughly 60 direct reports and that his two children and son-in-law hold positions at Nvidia. Nvidia has no dual-class shares, and Huang owns about 3.6% of the company, making him “easier to dislodge” than founders with voting control, corporate governance professor Ann Lipton said.

What can the board conclude?

Nvidia’s independent investigation, launched Sunday, remains ongoing. In its initial Sunday statement, the board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.” Whether Huang is ousted, suspended or retained pending the investigation remains unknown.

Huang has not publicly addressed the Times’ report on Powell. Reached by phone Wednesday, he told a Times reporter, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” and hung up, according to the Times and Reuters.

The next test is whether Wednesday’s board meeting produces a defined leadership decision before the 5 p.m. ET congressional-briefing deadline. Retaining Huang would leave the founder-CEO in place during an active national-security review; removing him would expose the succession gap Luria identified.