[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyeo-Re ] It has been reported that NVIDIA is considering dismissing its founder and CEO, Jensen Huang. Following allegations that a female employee was spying for China, the revelation of an extramarital affair with a company executive has put CEO Huang’s position in jeopardy.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time) that the NVIDIA board of directors is scheduled to hold a meeting as early as today to decide on CEO Huang’s future, including the possibility of his dismissal. However, the dismissal has not yet been finalized.
The move by NVIDIA’s board comes after it launched an internal investigation following revelations that CEO Huang had an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, who is suspected of having ties to Chinese intelligence agencies. Alice Huang is a former executive at Megaspede, a Singapore-based cloud company, and U.S. intelligence agencies suspect she acted on behalf of Chinese intelligence agencies. Megaspede is a major customer of NVIDIA and has been under investigation by U.S. authorities on suspicion of illegally exporting cutting-edge AI semiconductors to China.
In a letter sent to employees on the 8th, CEO Huang admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologized for betraying the trust of his family and employees.
On top of this, allegations of a second extramarital affair have surfaced. The New York Times (NYT) reported that day that CEO Huang had also engaged in an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, vice president of NVIDIA’s healthcare division, who reports directly to him. The two were reportedly seen acting affectionately at a hotel in San Jose, California, last March. There was also testimony that when someone present at the scene took photos of the two, CEO Huang’s security team proposed that the person sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
With these two allegations of infidelity, the controversy surrounding CEO Huang has expanded from national security concerns regarding potential ties to Chinese intelligence agencies to issues of corporate ethics and conflicts of interest. NVIDIA’s stock price fell by about 8% in after-hours trading following reports of efforts to oust CEO Huang.
CEO Huang co-founded NVIDIA in 1993 and grew it into a company that leads the global AI semiconductor market. He has become an international figure known for his signature leather jacket and active public appearances, and he is also the largest individual shareholder, holding approximately 3.6% of NVIDIA’s shares.
If CEO Huang’s dismissal becomes a reality, the issue of leadership succession at NVIDIA is expected to come to the forefront. He has been receiving direct reports from approximately 60 executives. While his daughter, Madison Huang; son-in-law, Nico Caprez; and son, Spencer Huang, all work at NVIDIA, no concrete succession plan has ever been established.
According to the New York Times, there have been discussions within NVIDIA for years about the need to establish a succession plan, but CEO Huang is said to have rejected this. His reasoning was that formalizing a succession plan would fuel competition among executives and cause division.
NVIDIA also recently cited its high dependence on long-serving executives as a risk factor in a public filing. It is currently unknown who is being considered as CEO Huang’s successor.