Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove chief executive Jensen Huang, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, a move that could come as soon as Wednesday night and that has not been confirmed by the Santa Clara chipmaker. Nvidia shares fell more than 7% in after-hours trading after the report, CNBC said.
The Journal’s account landed minutes after The New York Times reported that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, who reports to him. Powell joined the company in 2008 and has led its healthcare group since 2017. The Times reported that Huang and Powell were captured on video being affectionate at a San Jose hotel in March; The Verge, citing the Times, said the video was taken during Nvidia’s GTC developer conference that month. The San Francisco Standard described it as a San Jose hotel during a Nvidia conference in March.
The reports come days after Huang told employees he had an affair with a woman whom U.S. intelligence officials believe is a Chinese spy, a relationship first detailed in earlier coverage. Nvidia’s board has already opened an independent investigation and hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The Verge reported that former U.S. attorney Joon H. Kim is among the lawyers handling that work, and that Wednesday’s reports suggest the board may not wait for those findings before acting. The Verge, citing the Journal, said the board could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide Huang’s future.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CNBC or The Verge. The Standard reported that when Times reporters reached Huang by phone Wednesday and asked about his relationship with Powell, he said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” then hung up. Minutes before the Times story published, the Standard said, venture capitalist Ron Conway had called for patience while investigations concluded. Silicon Valley leaders had largely closed ranks around Huang earlier in the week, the Standard reported.
No removal has been announced. The company’s next formal step, and whether Huang remains in the job, will matter well beyond Santa Clara: Nvidia’s chips underpin much of the Bay Area’s artificial-intelligence boom, and lawmakers in Washington have already been pressing the company over export controls and the earlier spy allegations.