Jensen Huang was removed as Nvidia CEO Thursday after the chipmaking giant was left reeling over the revelations that he allegedly had affairs with a suspected Chinese honeypot as well as a company executive.
Huang – who co-founded the chipmaking behemoth in 1993 – was removed from his post following an hours-long board of directors meeting on Wednesday.
The verdict is a sharp U-turn from the vote of confidence Nvidia’s board gave the billionaire on Sunday – the same day he admitted he was unfaithful to his wife of 41 years, Lori Huang.
“There is no excuse for what I did,” he said.
Huang’s position at the top of Nvidia, a company worth around $4 trillion, had been precarious since the bombshell Oct. 29, New York Times report, which claimed he had developed a “close relationship” with alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang — who is of no relation.
US intelligence concluded that Alice Huang dined with the titan – but was secretly funnelling information to Beijing, according to sources briefed on classified intelligence findings.
Pictures from June 2024 showed the duo quaffing whiskey with other AI big dogs, and they enjoyed a business dinner at a Taipei restaurant with other AI suppliers the following May.
Meanwhile, Huang, 63, had cozied up to the Trump administration to ease restrictions on the sale of Nvidia chips to China.
This spring, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly oversaw the drafting of a classified memo warning top Trump officials that the Nvidia boss was in a close relationship with Huang.
Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen who was an exec at Megaspeed, a company which was the largest buyer of Nvidia chips in southeast Asia – had boasted about access to the American market.
The titan’s relationship with the Beijing honeypot is being investigated by the FBI but President Trump believes nothing criminal would be found.
Huang is facing calls to appear before Congress and explain himself. The chairs of House committees on China, foreign affairs and intelligence wrote to Huang and requested that the CEO appear for a joint, closed-door briefing Nov. 18.
“Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] access to sensitive U.S. technology and information,” Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), head of the panel on the Chinese Communist Party; and Intel chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) wrote.
They added that it is “vital that Congress determine the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk” and that Huang explains “security protocols against foreign adversary espionage and your interactions with … Alice Huang.”
That was before a bombshell New York Times report emerged claiming that Huang had an extramarital affair with Kimberly Powell, 48, Nvidia’s vice president of health care — an exec who reports to him.
Powell joined the Silicon Valley giant in 2008 to help bring its graphics-processing technology into medical imaging equipment. She rose through Nvidia’s business development ranks, becoming a senior director in 2016 before being named vice president of health care by late 2017.
The pair were acting lovey-dovey at a San Jose, Calif., hotel during the company’s annual developer conference in March, the Times reported.
A bystander filmed the encounter before being sequestered by Huang’s security team and offered a nondisclosure agreement, according to the newspaper, which said it did not view the recording.
Nvidia’s code of conduct warns employees against conflicts of interest involving personal relationships.
When the Times contacted Huang about Powell on Wednesday, he replied, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” before hanging up.
Jensen Huang sent an email to Nvidia staffers where he issued a groveling apology for his actions.
“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” he said.
“Throughout my life, my family has given me love and support. They deserve my honesty and loyalty.
“Instead, I let them down and damaged the life we built together. I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it.
“To my wife and family: I love you. I know an apology cannot undo what I have done. I hope our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust.”
Around $450 billion was wiped from the company’s market value in light of the allegations.