Kumar Bahukhandi
Nvidia co-founder and Chief Executive Jensen Huang gestures during a presentation. Nvidia’s board has met to consider his future as the company investigates reports that he was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Photo: Markus Schreiber/AP Photo/picture alliance.
The Wall Street Journal reports that directors are preparing to remove Huang. His departure would leave the roughly $4 trillion chipmaker he co-founded without an obvious successor.
Key Highlights
- Nvidia’s board met on Wednesday to consider Huang’s future, Reuters reported.
- Nvidia has opened an independent inquiry into reports that Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.
- The board said on 8 November it had no reason to believe US national security or Nvidia’s confidential information had been compromised.
- Nvidia shares fell more than 8 per cent in extended trading after the Journal’s report.
Washington: Nvidia’s board met late on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, to consider whether to remove co-founder and Chief Executive Jensen Huang, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The meeting followed a report in The Wall Street Journal that directors were preparing to oust Huang amid scrutiny of his personal conduct and allegations that he was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. As of Thursday morning, Nvidia had yet to announce a decision.
What the report says
The Journal reported that the board was weighing Huang’s future after learning of two alleged extramarital relationships, one with an Nvidia employee and another with a business executive suspected of links to Chinese intelligence. Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair in a message to employees and accepted responsibility for his conduct. Nvidia and Huang did not publicly identify the person involved.
The Associated Press reported that The New York Times identified the executive as Alice Huang and said US intelligence officials believed she was gathering information for Beijing. China’s Foreign Ministry rejected the allegation. Nvidia’s board said it would examine the available information and had no reason at that point to believe company secrets or US national security had been compromised.
Independent directors oversee the inquiry
Nvidia announced the inquiry on Sunday, 8 November, saying a committee of independent directors would oversee it with help from outside counsel. The board said Huang supported the review and had agreed to cooperate. It also expressed confidence in him and his leadership team. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Wednesday’s board meeting.
A succession question at a roughly $4 trillion chipmaker
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it for more than three decades, overseeing its growth from a graphics chip company into the dominant supplier of processors used in artificial intelligence. Reuters reported that he has dozens of direct reports and that there is no obvious successor. If directors remove him, they would have to decide who can take over those responsibilities at a company whose chips are central to the competition between the United States and China over advanced computing.
Nvidia shares fell more than 8 per cent in extended trading after the Journal reported that directors were preparing to remove Huang. The company is due to report quarterly results on 17 November, when investors are also expected to hear its outlook.
