Nvidia Board Preparing to Oust CEO Jensen Huang After Second Affair Surfaces, WSJ Reports

Nvidia's board is preparing to remove chief executive Jensen Huang from the job he has held since co-founding the company in 1993, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, November 11, after a second extramarital affair involving the 63-year-old CEO came to light. The board is planning to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine Huang's future, according to people familiar with the matter.

What We Know So Far

Short answer: Nvidia's board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang after reports of two extramarital affairs — one with Alice Huang, a former executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed who is suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset, and a second with an Nvidia executive who reports directly to him. The board, which launched an independent investigation on Sunday, November 8, is set to meet as soon as Wednesday to decide his fate, and Nvidia shares fell about 8 percent in after-hours trading on the news.

A Second Affair Changes the Board's Calculus

Just three days ago, Nvidia's board said it had confidence in Huang and saw "no reason to believe" national security interests had been compromised. The Journal reports that the emergence of a second affair — first reported by The New York Times on Wednesday — has shifted that position. The second relationship was with an Nvidia executive who reports to Huang, raising separate questions about workplace conduct and conflicts of interest on top of the national-security concerns.

Huang acknowledged in a letter to staff on Sunday, November 8, that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologized for violating their trust. He has not publicly addressed the second affair. Nvidia declined to comment on the Journal's report.

The Alice Huang and Megaspeed Connection

The first affair is at the center of a widening set of investigations. Alice Huang — also known as Huang Le — was a top executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based cloud provider and major Nvidia customer. U.S. officials believe China's intelligence services recruited her as an asset because of her access to the chipmaker's chief executive, according to the Journal.

The U.S. Justice Department is now leading multiple investigations involving Alice Huang, and a criminal probe into Megaspeed's alleged smuggling of export-restricted Nvidia AI chips to China. Megaspeed's Malaysian affiliate acquired at least $4.8 billion in Nvidia hardware between June 2024 and February 2026, some of it found sealed in crates, with clients including Alibaba, according to earlier reporting. The company denies wrongdoing.

Alice Huang was detained by Singapore authorities in the summer of 2025 and prevented from leaving the country, and Taiwanese authorities have revoked her entry permit. The Journal also reported that she was introduced to Jensen Huang by Chinese businessman Kang Wei — her husband — whom Huang had known for about a decade.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he spoke with Huang, who told him he had no idea Alice Huang was a spy. The FBI is running a separate inquiry, and three House committee chairmen have demanded Huang testify, with a congressional briefing scheduled for November 18.

Shares Slide as Succession Questions Mount

Nvidia shares fell about 8 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, extending a slide that began Monday, November 9, when the board investigation was announced and the stock dropped roughly 5 percent. The company, the world's most valuable by market capitalization and the central supplier of the AI boom, is on track to have shed hundreds of billions of dollars in market value this week.

Bettors on prediction market Polymarket put the odds of Huang leaving his position by resignation or removal by year-end at 77 percent.

The succession question is acute because Huang has said he does not believe in succession planning and runs Nvidia with a flat structure of roughly 60 direct reports. Nvidia's latest proxy statement warns the company is "highly dependent on the services of our longstanding executive team" and that a failure to ensure succession planning could "hinder our strategic planning, execution, and long-term success." It was not immediately clear who would succeed him.

What Happens Next

All eyes are now on the board meeting. The independent directors have retained former acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to run the investigation announced on Sunday. A shareholder class action has already been filed over the company's disclosures around Huang and Megaspeed, and Nvidia is due to report quarterly earnings next week, with revenue forecast to rise more than 90 percent year over year — a result that may now be overshadowed entirely by the question of who runs the company. For the latest developments on this fast-moving story, follow our continuing Nvidia coverage here.

Why This Matters

Huang is not just another CEO. He co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and turned it from a graphics-chip maker into the indispensable supplier of the artificial intelligence era, making him one of Silicon Valley's longest-serving and most powerful leaders — and Nvidia's largest individual shareholder, with about 3.4 percent of outstanding shares. His possible removal would be one of the most consequential leadership changes in tech history, with implications for the AI industry, U.S.-China technology policy, and the export-control regime Washington has built around advanced chips.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Jensen Huang being fired from Nvidia?

Not yet. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, November 11, that Nvidia's board is preparing to oust Huang and plans to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine his future. No final decision has been announced.

Why is Nvidia's board considering removing Jensen Huang?

Reports of two extramarital affairs: one with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset, and a second with an Nvidia executive who reports to him. The board launched an independent investigation on Sunday, November 8.

Who is Alice Huang?

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was a top executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. U.S. officials believe Chinese intelligence recruited her because of her access to Jensen Huang. She was detained by Singapore authorities in summer 2025.

How have Nvidia shares reacted?

Shares fell about 8 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, November 11, after falling roughly 5 percent on Monday when the board investigation was announced.

Who would replace Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO?

It is not clear. Huang has said he does not believe in succession planning, and Nvidia's board has not publicly indicated a successor. The company's proxy statement warns it is highly dependent on its executive team.

What is the DOJ investigating?

The Justice Department is leading a criminal probe into Megaspeed over alleged smuggling of export-restricted Nvidia AI chips to China, and is running multiple investigations involving Alice Huang. The FBI is conducting a separate inquiry.

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