Nvidia’s board of directors is considering the removal of CEO Jensen Huang following reports of two extramarital affairs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The leadership of the AI chipmaker is preparing for a potential leadership change after a personal scandal escalated into a crisis involving allegations of Chinese espionage and political scrutiny.
The company’s stock has faced intense volatility; while it saw a slight rise to $173.73 on Wednesday, Finanzen.net reported, it has previously lost as much as 10 percent in a single session, PC Games Hardware reported. Since the weekend, losses have totaled approximately $600 billion, Berliner Morgenpost reported.
The crisis began when Huang admitted in an email to employees on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife, Der Tagesspiegel reported. “I was unfaithful to my wife,” Huang wrote, according to Der Tagesspiegel.
The situation intensified following reports from the New York Times regarding a second relationship with a subordinate, Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s Vice President of Healthcare. Powell, who reports directly to Huang, was reportedly observed in a familiar manner with Huang at a hotel during the GTC conference in San Jose in March 2026, PC Games Hardware reported.
Powell has denied the allegations on social media, Berliner Morgenpost reported. When asked by the New York Times, Huang said he did not believe one should speak to him directly and ended the call.
Intelligence agencies investigate Alice Huang for potential espionage
A central component of the controversy involves Alice Huang, a former executive at the Singapore-based cloud provider Megaspeed. US intelligence agencies have identified her as a potential agent for China’s Ministry of State Security, Berliner Morgenpost reported.
Investigations are examining whether her proximity to the CEO was used to facilitate access to American high technology via Megaspeed, which is suspected of helping move advanced chips to China in violation of export controls, Der Tagesspiegel reported.
The FBI is reportedly investigating the relationship between the CEO and Alice Huang to determine if it involved espionage, heise online reported. While Nvidia stated it has “no reason to assume” that national security or company trade secrets were compromised, the company has engaged the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct an independent investigation, ZDFheute reported.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed the espionage claims as “unfounded speculation,” ZDFheute reported. A spokesperson for the ministry said that the story regarding a so-called Chinese spy was nothing more than “unfounded slander and defamation.”
Lawmakers warn against Chinese intelligence activities
The scandal has drawn attention from lawmakers. In Germany, Marc Henrichmann, chairman of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Control Panel, warned on Wednesday against naivety, telling Deutschlandfunk that “We vastly underestimate the activities of the Chinese,” according to WEB.DE News. Konstantin von Notz, a Green party lawmaker, added that such “honey traps” are part of the standard repertoire of foreign intelligence services, web.de reported.
In the US, legislative pressure is mounting. Republican John Moolenaar, chair of the House China Committee, seeks to include export restrictions in the defense bill, while Republican Michael McCaul has called for an immediate suspension of advanced AI chip deliveries to China, Finanzen.net reported. Analysts at Veda Partners suggest the Chip Security Act has an 80 percent chance of becoming law, according to Finanzen.net.
Search for leadership succession
As the board deliberates on Huang’s future, reports indicate that Nvidia has hired an external firm to assist in searching for a potential successor, PC Games Hardware reported. Bloomberg also reported that the company is considering the appointment of an interim CEO, PC Games Hardware reported.
The upcoming quarterly earnings report, scheduled for release on November 17, is expected to be a critical moment for the company’s market stability, Der Aktionär reported.