Nvidia's stock dives as board weighs move to oust Jensen Huang

Nvidia's stock price plummeted following an announcement that the company's board of directors intends to remove CEO Jensen Huang. The chipmaker began an investigation into Huang on Wednesday, after he admitted to having an extramarital affair. US intelligence agencies have connected Huang to a Chinese executive, Alice Huang, who is believed to be a secret agent for China's Ministry of State Security.

The Trump administration has been made aware of the situation, according to sources. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the board's decision to remove Huang. Nvidia's shares declined by more than 8%, settling at $159.51 in post-market trading. The decline comes after a sharp drop in the company's market value, which has fallen more than $450 billion since the investigation into Huang's conduct was announced on November 8.

Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993, is widely regarded as the face of the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry, as the company's cutting-edge chips provide the essential computing power for advanced AI models. Losing Huang would be a significant setback for Nvidia, as there are no clear candidates to replace him, according to Wall Street analysts.

Corporate governance experts say Huang's alleged relationship with Alice Huang appears to breach Nvidia's code of conduct, which emphasizes that personal relationships could create a conflict of interest. Huang explicitly states in the code that employees must uphold high ethical standards and avoid any actions that could be made public on social media or discovered by colleagues.

In a statement to employees on Sunday, Huang admitted to the affair and apologized to his wife and their two children, both of whom are also employed at Nvidia. Nvidia's 11-member board consists of Huang as the sole non-independent member. The Trump administration is also probing Huang's romantic and business ties with Alice Huang, who served as a high-ranking executive at Megaspeed International, a company that is one of Nvidia's largest foreign customers, having purchased nearly $5 billion worth of AI chips and other advanced hardware.

The situation at Nvidia is raising concerns in Washington, D.C., with lawmakers expected to question company executives about the possibility of chips being diverted to China via other nations.