Things look dire for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, as his future at the company may be in jeopardy. Recently, it was revealed that Huang had been involved in an extramarital affair with a suspected Chinese spy, and this week, news broke that he’d been involved in a second affair with one of his executives.
According to The New York Times, the Nvidia board of directors is meeting to discuss the situation, just days after launching an independent investigation into him. After the affair was first exposed, Nvidia quickly issued a statement saying that none of the company’s secrets, or US state secrets, had been compromised. Huang also issued a letter to Nvidia employees, apologizing to his wife and children.
With AI technology taking off in the last couple of years, Nvidia has become a major supplier of the crucial hardware components powering this boom. While the company is best known for its graphics cards, its fortunes have risen exponentially as it has focused more heavily on AI chips, with Huang becoming the face of the AI boom in the US. Huang is also Nvidia’s founder, having started the company in 1993 and run its day-to-day operations for decades. With a 3.56% stake, he’s also Nvidia’s largest shareholder.
Removing him could also have huge ramifications for the company, given how involved he is in running it and the reportedly lack of a succession plan. The revelation of a second affair has seen Nvidia’s stock tumble, and the company’s board may feel pressured to remove him as CEO to do some damage control.
“If Jensen Huang is ousted as is expected, an already challenging environment for Nvidia investors and employees will become considerably more difficult,” chief market strategist at JonesTrading Mike O’Rourke told CNN. “Nvidia is currently the most important company in the world. “The new CEO will need to make an extensive appraisal of the company, and Jensen’s successor will not have the same latitude or deference to pursue circular deals and pursue aggressive sales tactics.”