Directors are considering the longtime CEO’s future as a separate investigation examines whether he was targeted by foreign intelligence.
SANTA CLARA, CA — Nvidia’s board was meeting late Wednesday to consider whether to remove co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang after a second alleged extramarital affair intensified a leadership crisis at the artificial intelligence chipmaker, according to Reuters and other reports.
The deliberations mark a sharp turn for Nvidia, whose board days earlier announced an independent investigation into reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The latest pressure followed a New York Times report that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, who reported to him. Reuters said it could not independently verify that report, and Nvidia and Powell did not immediately respond to its requests for comment.
The New York Times report cited five people who worked at Nvidia in describing the alleged relationship with Powell. When the newspaper contacted Huang about Powell, it reported that he said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” before ending the call. The allegation emerged while Nvidia was already dealing with questions about another relationship Huang acknowledged in a message to employees.
Huang said Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologized to his family, employees and others connected to the company. His admission followed reporting about his relationship with Alice Huang, a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence officials reportedly suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence. Alice Huang is not related to Jensen Huang. The espionage allegations have not been established publicly, and Beijing has rejected claims that she was a Chinese spy.
Nvidia’s board said Nov. 8 that it had begun an independent investigation “in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, is overseeing the investigation. Nvidia later retained Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, with former federal prosecutor Joon H. Kim helping lead the review.
The second affair allegation changed the immediate focus from an investigation centered on possible foreign-intelligence targeting to a broader question about Huang’s continued leadership. Reuters reported that Nvidia’s board has 11 directors and considers all but Huang independent. Under the company’s bylaws, directors may remove the CEO with or without cause by majority vote.
The uncertainty sent Nvidia shares down more than 8% in extended trading Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal first reported that the board was preparing to oust Huang. Reuters estimated that, if those losses held, roughly $600 billion in Nvidia’s market value would have been erased since the board announced its investigation. The company remains valued at roughly $4 trillion and is the dominant supplier of processors used to train and run many artificial intelligence systems.
A removal would create an unusual succession challenge. Huang, 63, co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has served as its chief executive throughout the company’s history, overseeing its transformation from a graphics-chip business into a central supplier for the global AI industry. Reuters reported that Huang owns about 3.6% of Nvidia and has dozens of direct reports, while the company has no obvious successor.
Bloomberg reported that the board has been working with an outside firm to identify possible replacements and has considered using an interim CEO while conducting a broader search. Nvidia had not announced a successor or publicly confirmed that a decision to remove Huang had been made. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been cited by some investors as a possible interim leader, but the board has not publicly named a candidate.
The controversy also has drawn attention in Washington because Nvidia’s advanced chips are central to U.S.-China competition over artificial intelligence. Congressional lawmakers have sought a closed-door briefing from Huang about the national security concerns raised by reports about his relationship with Alice Huang. Those questions come as the United States continues restricting exports of some advanced computing technology to China.
The board’s deliberations come shortly before Nvidia is scheduled to report quarterly financial results on Nov. 17, adding uncertainty for investors who are already watching demand for AI infrastructure and U.S. export policy. As of early Thursday, Nvidia had not publicly announced the outcome of the board meeting or said that Huang had been removed. The independent investigation also remained underway.
Author note: Last updated November 12, 2026.