Nvidia Board Weighs Jensen Huang Successors After Affair Report

Nvidia has no chairman role and no publicly known succession plan as its board confronts questions about CEO Jensen Huang's position following reports of an extramarital affair, according to TechCrunch. Prediction market Kalshi put Huang's odds of surviving the week at 30%, TechCrunch reported Wednesday.

Why is Jensen Huang's job in question?

Huang has confessed to an extramarital affair, but as of Wednesday afternoon it was not clear which of two women he meant, TechCrunch reported. Five sources told The New York Times, in a report cited by TechCrunch, that the affair involved either Alice Huang, a Chinese executive whom U.S. intelligence suspects of spying for China, or Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia executive who reports directly to Huang.

Does Nvidia have a succession plan?

No formal one has surfaced publicly. TechCrunch noted Nvidia's board members, whom Huang has made very rich, are unlikely to cut him loose entirely even if he is pushed out as CEO. The board could instead create a chairman role — one Nvidia does not currently have — and keep Huang in it. But someone still has to run day-to-day operations, and TechCrunch wrote there is "no apparent succession plan," leaving speculation about Huang's 60 direct reports and outside names.

Who are the candidates being floated?

TechCrunch's list, described as "highly unscientific," includes AMD CEO Lisa Su, a distant cousin of Huang who runs Nvidia's most credible rival; her name was floated by The Information this week, though TechCrunch questioned why she would leave a job positioned to benefit from Nvidia's distraction. Eric Schmidt, who ran Google from 2001 to 2011 and chaired the National Security Commission on AI from 2018 to 2021, was the pick of Yale School of Management's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who told TechCrunch Schmidt could "parachute in tomorrow and do a very good job" — though TechCrunch noted Schmidt carries his own extramarital-affair history that could complicate board approval. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan was also named. Bret Taylor, former Salesforce co-CEO, OpenAI board chair, and current CEO of AI startup Sierra, rounds out the list.

What is happening at Intel, Lip-Bu Tan's current employer?

Intel reported third-quarter revenue up 21% to $16.5 billion last month, then warned fourth-quarter results would fall short of Wall Street forecasts, TechCrunch reported. Intel's stock plunged 20% in after-hours trading on that warning, having already slid more than 30% since September, as an AI-driven memory-chip shortage raised PC prices and cut PC sales — a dynamic TechCrunch said has hurt Intel while benefiting Nvidia.

By the numbers

• 30%: Huang's odds of surviving the week on Kalshi, per TechCrunch.
• 21%: Intel's third-quarter revenue growth, to $16.5 billion, before its fourth-quarter warning.
• 20%: Intel's after-hours stock drop following that warning; shares were down more than 30% since September.

What to watch

• Whether Nvidia's board creates a chairman role to retain Huang in some capacity.
• Further reporting identifying which executive — Alice Huang or Kimberly Powell — was involved in the affair Huang confessed to.
• Any statement from AMD, Intel, or Sierra regarding their executives' interest in an Nvidia move.
• Congressional or investigative developments tied to the spying allegations against Alice Huang.