Nvidia directors set to sack CEO Jensen Huang over affairs with Chinese spy

Nvidia’s board is currently meeting to consider the future of Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang following reports linking him to two extramarital affairs, including one allegedly involving a businesswoman suspected of being a Chinese spy.

The development has heightened uncertainty at the world’s most valuable chipmaker, with industry observers warning that Huang’s departure could create a leadership vacuum at the company, valued at about $4 trillion.

Huang, 63, who co-founded Nvidia more than three decades ago, owns about 3.6 per cent of the company’s shares and oversees a management structure in which dozens of senior executives report directly to him, underscoring his central role in the firm’s operations.

The controversy has rattled investors, with Nvidia shares falling about eight per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, extending losses that have wiped roughly $600 billion off the company’s market value this week.

The crisis deepened after Huang admitted in an internal memo to employees on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife, saying he accepted “full responsibility” for his actions, although he did not disclose details of the relationship.

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The company’s board has also opened an investigation to determine whether Huang may have been the target of a foreign intelligence operation following allegations that one of the women involved had links to Chinese espionage, Reuters reported.

Amid the controversy, US President Donald Trump publicly backed the Nvidia chief, describing him as “an honorable guy” who had “done an amazing job for our country.”

The board’s deliberations are expected to determine whether Huang will remain at the helm of the artificial intelligence chip giant as it navigates one of the biggest corporate crises in its history.

At the centre of the controversy is Alice Huang, an executive associated with Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed, a former major Nvidia customer.

According to The Wall Street Journal, US intelligence officials suspect Alice Huang of having connections to Chinese intelligence services. American authorities have also investigated allegations that Megaspeed facilitated the movement of restricted Nvidia chips to Chinese companies.