Jensen Huang ousted? Nvidia board prepares to remove CEO, WSJ says

Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove Jensen Huang as chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The new fact since our earlier story on the FBI probe: the Journal says a second relationship, with a senior Nvidia executive, has pushed the board towards acting. Nvidia has not confirmed any decision, and as of Thursday morning in Pakistan no announcement had been made.

What the report says

According to the Journal, the board was ready to meet as soon as Wednesday to decide Huang’s future. The first affair, with a woman US officials suspect of being a Chinese intelligence asset, became public last week; the board had already opened an inquiry into whether Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The Journal now reports a separate relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care. The New York Times reported that Powell reports directly to Huang.

In a memo to staff on Sunday, Huang admitted being unfaithful to his wife and said he took “full responsibility”. He has not said anything publicly about the Journal’s latest report.

Markets and Washington

Nvidia shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading after the report, Yahoo Finance reported. That matters well beyond Silicon Valley: Nvidia is the world’s most valuable chipmaker and its stock is a large part of the big US indexes. President Donald Trump said he had not discussed the allegations with Huang but voiced support for him, while several members of Congress have called on him to resign, CNBC reported.

Who could run Nvidia?

Nobody knows. Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it ever since; he has said he does not believe in formal succession planning. One analyst warned Reuters that removing him at once would be hard for a company with no named successor.

Why Pakistanis should care

Nvidia’s chips run almost every big AI system, including the ones Pakistani freelancers and software houses use every day. Business Insider argued that China could be the biggest winner from Huang’s fall, given his role in the US-China chip fight. A messy change at the top could slow product launches and shake the AI share rally that has also lifted emerging markets.

Watch for an official statement from Nvidia’s board, and for whether Huang resigns before he is pushed.