Nvidia Board Preparing to Oust CEO Jensen Huang After Second Affair Report, Shares Fall 8%

The Nvidia Jensen Huang crisis took a dramatic turn on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, when The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia's board is preparing to oust its co-founder and chief executive, Jensen Huang. The board was planning to meet as soon as Wednesday to decide his future, according to people familiar with the matter. Nvidia shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading on the report, extending a slide that began when the board opened an investigation into Huang earlier in the week.

The report marks a stunning reversal. Just three days earlier, on Sunday, November 8, the board said it had no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, and it expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team. That statement came hours after Huang admitted in an email to employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife. The Journal now reports that the board is preparing to remove him after two extramarital affairs, one with a Singapore-based executive whom US officials believe works for Chinese intelligence, and a second, reported by The New York Times on Wednesday, with an Nvidia executive who reports to him.

Why Nvidia's Board Is Now Preparing to Oust Jensen Huang

The New York Times first reported the business connection between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang in October 2025. Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang, was a top executive at Singapore-based data-centre company Megaspeed International. According to The New York Times, US officials concluded she was working for Chinese intelligence while building a close relationship with Huang, and she was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. The Justice Department is now leading multiple investigations involving Alice Huang, according to people familiar with the matter. Huang has said he had no idea she was a spy, and President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had spoken to Huang, who told him the same.

The second affair, reported by The New York Times earlier on Wednesday, involves an Nvidia executive who reports directly to Huang. Hours later, the Journal reported that the board was preparing to oust him. Analysts at Baird wrote that Huang might have to step down as chief executive and downgraded Nvidia's stock, saying the odds of a CEO transition are increasing heading into 2027. Prediction markets swung sharply with the news: bettors on Polymarket put 77% odds on Huang leaving his position by resignation or removal by year-end, up from just 13 to 14% a day earlier.

Washington Turns Up the Pressure on Nvidia

The crisis has also become a political one in Washington. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons have asked the Trump administration to preserve all documents tied to Nvidia's chip exports to China and to Huang's affair with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset, a common first step before formal congressional investigations. Republicans in the House have called on Huang to brief lawmakers next week on his relationship with Alice Huang and have said they are open to using subpoenas to make him appear. Calls for Huang to resign have also come from Republican allies of the president, including former National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow and Senator Kevin Cramer, a senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees export controls.

Lawmakers on both sides are questioning Nvidia's relationship with China. Huang directly lobbied the president to allow Nvidia to send chips directly to China while having an affair with a business partner suspected of working for Chinese intelligence, according to the Journal. The scrutiny now covers both the chip export decisions and the affair itself, and it is unlikely to fade even if Huang stays in the job.

What Jensen Huang's Exit Would Mean for Nvidia

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has been its chief executive ever since, building a gaming chip startup into the AI industry's main chip supplier, with an estimated 90% share of that market. He is Nvidia's largest individual shareholder, with about 3.4% of outstanding shares, and one of 11 members of the company's board. Investors have long treated him as irreplaceable: analysts at Yorkville Ives wrote that there is no other person on the management team bench who can step in seamlessly as CEO, and Nvidia's latest proxy statement warns that the company is highly dependent on the services of its longstanding executive team.

That dependence is now Nvidia's biggest risk. Huang has said he does not believe in succession planning, and he runs the company with a flat structure and roughly 60 direct reports. The board has not publicly indicated who would succeed him if he were no longer able to lead. Shares slid about 5% on Monday after the investigation was announced, wiping more than $200 billion off Nvidia's market value in a single session, and the after-hours drop on Wednesday pushed the losses further. Baird's analysts said they now favour an outside hire over an internal promotion if a transition happens.

Nvidia Jensen Huang Timeline: How the Crisis Unfolded

• October 2025: The New York Times first reports the business connection between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang of Megaspeed International.
• Sunday, November 8, 2026: Nvidia's board opens an independent investigation; Huang admits in an email to employees that he was unfaithful to his wife.
• Monday, November 9: Nvidia shares slide about 5% as the board says it has confidence in Huang and no reason to believe secrets were compromised.
• Wednesday, November 11: The New York Times reports a second affair with an Nvidia executive who reports to Huang; Baird says Huang might need to step down and downgrades the stock.
• Wednesday evening, November 11: The Wall Street Journal reports the board is preparing to oust Huang and will meet as soon as Wednesday to decide his future; shares fall about 8% after hours.

What Happens Next for Jensen Huang and Nvidia

As of now, no decision has been announced and Huang remains Nvidia's chief executive. The board meeting reported by the Journal was expected as soon as Wednesday, and its outcome will decide whether the most important chief executive in the AI industry keeps his job. The independent investigation overseen by independent directors and outside lawyers continues in parallel, and the Justice Department's investigations involving Alice Huang are also ongoing. Whatever the board decides, Nvidia will have to answer a question it has avoided for three decades: who runs the company if Jensen Huang does not.