Jensen Huang Ouster: What We Know About Nvidia’s Board Crisis

By Sarah Jay · Updated November 12, 2026 · Compiled from reporting by CBS News, ABC News, Reuters, TechCrunch and Yahoo Finance, cross-checked against each other. Nothing here is sponsored.

Nvidia’s board met late Wednesday, November 11, to decide whether to remove co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, according to a source who spoke to Reuters. The possible Jensen Huang ouster follows reports that he had an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believe was a Chinese asset, plus a second alleged relationship with an Nvidia executive. As of Thursday morning, no decision had been announced.

Huang has run Nvidia for 33 years. The company is worth roughly $4 trillion, according to Reuters, and its chips power much of the AI industry. So a leadership fight here reaches well past one boardroom in Santa Clara.

What happened with Jensen Huang and Nvidia’s board?

The story moved fast over five days.

In recent weeks, The New York Times reported that Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang, who previously led Singapore-based Megaspeed International. The two aren’t related. According to the Times, U.S. intelligence agencies have believed for months that she was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security. Megaspeed bought billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips and hardware, CBS News reported.

Over the weekend, Huang sent a message to employees. “I was unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote, according to ABC News. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.” He didn’t name anyone, and he said he remained “fully committed to NVIDIA.”

On Sunday, Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation into reports that Huang “has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” A committee of independent directors is running it with outside counsel. At that point the board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised” and that it had “confidence in Jensen and his leadership team.”

That confidence didn’t last the week.

On Wednesday evening, the Times reported a second alleged relationship, this one with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, who reports directly to Huang. The Times cited five people who had worked at the company. Reuters said it couldn’t verify that report, and Nvidia and Powell didn’t respond to requests for comment. Reached by phone, Huang told the Times, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” and hung up.

Shortly after, The Wall Street Journal reported that the board was preparing to oust him. Reuters then reported that the directors were meeting late Wednesday.

Key details of the Jensen Huang ouster fight

Here’s what multiple outlets agree on, and where the reporting comes from a single source.

• Nvidia has 11 directors, and all of them except Huang are considered independent, per Reuters. The company’s bylaws let a majority remove the CEO “with or without cause.”
• Huang is 63 and owns about 3.6% of Nvidia’s stock, Reuters reported.
• Bloomberg reported the board has been working with an outside firm to identify possible replacements. Nvidia has no obvious successor or public succession plan, TechCrunch noted.
• Some analysts have floated CFO Colette Kress as a possible interim CEO. That’s speculation, not a board decision.
• Two law enforcement sources told CBS News the Justice Department is investigating Megaspeed over possible violations of U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips. Megaspeed denies any involvement in illegal chip transfers.
• Nvidia also faces a securities lawsuit accusing it of failing to tell shareholders about Huang’s relationship with the alleged spy, according to CBS News.

The allegations about both relationships remain allegations. No charges have been filed against Huang, and nothing public so far shows that Nvidia secrets left the company.

How the stock and the market reacted

Investors didn’t wait for the board.

Nvidia shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the Journal’s report, according to CBS News and Reuters. TechCrunch put the five-day decline at about 11%. If the losses hold, Reuters estimated Nvidia will have shed about $600 billion in market value since the investigation began.

Yahoo Finance’s live coverage had the stock trading at $162.28 before Thursday’s open, down 6.59%, after it closed Wednesday at $173.73. The ripple hit other chip names too. Reuters reported CoreWeave fell 6% after hours and Nasdaq futures slipped about 1%, while AMD rose 4% and Broadcom gained 3%.

Wall Street analysts split. Bernstein downgraded the stock and cut its price target from $400 to $200, saying it was “impossible to us for the board to keep him in the role,” according to Yahoo Finance. Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold kept a Strong Buy rating and wrote, “We doubt the distraction created by the CEO’s indiscretions alters the fundamentals.”

Armina Rosenberg of Minotaur Capital, an Nvidia shareholder, told Reuters: “The market is starting to price Nvidia without its founder as the likely outcome, not a tail risk.”

What each side says

Nvidia. Beyond the Sunday statement, the company hasn’t commented publicly on the board meeting. Earlier, a spokesperson told ABC News that “Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected.” Spokesperson John Rizzo told CBS News that if Nvidia faced a genuine threat, the U.S. government would have told the company.

Huang. He has admitted infidelity and apologized to his family. He hasn’t publicly addressed the spy allegations in detail.

China. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the “so-called Chinese spy narrative is entirely baseless and constitutes slander and smear,” CBS News reported.

The White House. President Trump called Huang a “very high-quality person” on Monday, according to CBS News. Trump said Huang told him he didn’t know the woman was a spy. “I really believe him,” Trump said, per ABC News. Accounts differ here: Reuters reported that Trump said he hadn’t discussed the allegations with Huang but supported him. Separately, Yahoo Finance’s timeline notes a Times report that Trump was told in May about intelligence linking Huang to the woman.

Congress. Republicans on the House Select Committee on China asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18, ABC News reported. House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast said he was prepared to subpoena Huang if he didn’t respond by Wednesday. It isn’t clear yet whether a subpoena has gone out.

What happens next

The board’s decision is the first thing to watch. A majority vote is all it takes, and the directors don’t need to give a reason.

Then comes earnings. Nvidia reports quarterly results on November 17, according to Reuters and The Next Web, which means the company will face analysts’ questions within days whether Huang stays or not. The congressional briefing request for November 18 lands the very next day.

There’s also a policy thread. Trump allowed Nvidia to sell its H200 chips to approved customers in China late last year, with the federal government taking a 25% cut, CBS News reported. Axios reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stalled a crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia chips to China. Expect both points to come up in Washington, especially once Democrats take control of Congress in January after the 2026 midterm results.

Why it matters

Nvidia isn’t an ordinary company. At roughly $4 trillion, it’s big enough that a sharp drop drags on the Nasdaq and on the index funds many Americans hold for retirement. Its chips are also at the center of the fight over how much AI hardware China can get.

I think the hardest question for the board is practical. Huang has about 60 direct reports and delegates very little, by his own account cited by TechCrunch. Replacing a founder who runs the company that way, days before earnings, is a much bigger job than finding a new name for the title.

For more on how the new Congress is shaping up, see our coverage of Jim Jordan’s election as House minority leader and the latest from our News section.

FAQ

Was Jensen Huang fired from Nvidia?

Not as of Thursday morning, November 12. Nvidia’s board met late Wednesday to decide his future, according to Reuters, but no decision had been announced. The Wall Street Journal reported the board was preparing to remove him.

Why is Nvidia’s board considering removing Jensen Huang?

The board began an investigation after reports that Huang had an affair with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive U.S. intelligence agencies believe was a Chinese asset. The New York Times later reported a second alleged relationship with an Nvidia executive who reports to him. Huang has admitted being unfaithful to his wife.

Who is Alice Huang?

Alice Huang previously led Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company that bought billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia hardware, according to CBS News. She isn’t related to Jensen Huang. China’s government has called the spy allegations baseless.

How much has Nvidia stock fallen?

Shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading Wednesday, according to CBS News and Reuters. Yahoo Finance reported the stock at $162.28 before Thursday’s open, down 6.59% from Wednesday’s close of $173.73.

Who could replace Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO?

Nvidia hasn’t named anyone. Bloomberg reported the board is working with an outside firm to find candidates, and some analysts have mentioned CFO Colette Kress as a possible interim pick. That’s speculation for now.

When does Nvidia report earnings?

Nvidia’s next quarterly results are due November 17, according to Reuters. A House committee has also asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18.

Sources: CBS News, ABC News, Reuters (via The Korea Times), TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance, The Next Web.

This story is developing and will be updated as Nvidia’s board announces a decision.

About the Author

Sarah Jay

Sarah Jay is a journalist, fact-checker, and writer who creates well-researched articles using information from credible and trusted sources. She combines verified facts with thoughtful analysis, offering readers clear, balanced, and insightful perspectives on the topics she covers.

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