Reports on a second affair: Nvidia's supervisory board discusses the expulsion of company boss Huang

The shares of chip giant Nvidia fell by over eight percent after trading. The reason for this are reports about a possible dismissal of Nvidia boss Jensen Huang after an alleged second affair became public.

According to media reports, the future of company boss Jensen Huang, who is under pressure after an affair with a possible Chinese spy, could soon be decided at the chip giant Nvidia. The board of directors of the California-based group met for consultations on Wednesday (local time), as reported by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, among others, citing informed people. The background is reports of two extramarital affairs by Huang.

The shares of the chip company, which is one of the most valuable companies, fell by over eight percent in after-hours trading. If these losses continue, Nvidia would have lost about $600 billion in market value since its board announced its investigation into Huang's relationship with a businesswoman named Alice Huang, suspected of Chinese espionage.

According to reports in the past few days, the 63-year-old company founder and multi-billionaire had a relationship with a woman who, according to suspicions in US security circles, could be a Chinese spy. Huang, who has been married for over 40 years, confirmed an extramarital affair in an email to Nvidia employees.

The "New York Times" and the "Wall Street Journal" also reported on Wednesday that the company boss had had another affair with a top manager of the company who reported to him. It is Kimberly Powell, who is Vice President of Healthcare at Nvidia. Nvidia, Huang and Powell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. American boards of directors often have a very low tolerance level for affairs in companies; in several cases they have cost top managers their jobs.

The board meeting marks a sharp turnaround from the weekend. The company launched an investigation after initial reports that Huang might have been the target of foreign espionage activity. The public statement also said that they still had confidence in Huang and his management team. This looks different now. According to Nvidia's statutes, the CEO can be removed "with or without cause" by a majority vote of the eleven directors.

Huang plays a big role in day-to-day operations

Huang's name is inseparably linked to Nvidia: He has been its boss since the chip company was founded more than 30 years ago and is considered the driving force behind the rise of the Silicon Valley company, which until a few years ago was primarily known for computer graphics cards and experienced a steep rise thanks to the AI boom. The management structure is also exceptionally tailored to Huang. According to the media, around 60 managers report directly to him. This means he is more involved in day-to-day business than other bosses of large corporations - and also more difficult to replace.

According to information from the news website "Semafor", some members of the board of directors favor CFO Colette Kress as a possible successor. The financial service Bloomberg reported, citing an informed person, that one idea was to fill the top position on an interim basis and then look for a long-term solution.

In recent years, Nvidia chips have become a key technology in the booming artificial intelligence business. A leadership crisis at Nvidia could put a strain on the entire tech industry.

Senators put pressure on Trump administration

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons, meanwhile, called on President Donald Trump's administration to preserve all records related to Nvidia's chip exports and Huang's affair with the would-be spy. In Congress, Democrats will take over the majority in both chambers from Trump's Republicans in January and could initiate parliamentary investigations.

In recent years, Huang has repeatedly appeared as a proponent of selling newer Nvidia chips to China. His reasoning is that the People's Republic will otherwise develop its own semiconductors that could compete with Nvidia on the global market and thus undermine the US's AI technology leadership. The woman from China with whom Huang is said to have had an affair temporarily worked for a company that was suspected by US authorities of smuggling chips into China and thus circumventing bans.