By Alexandra Alper
Nov 11 (Reuters) - Nvidia's board is meeting on Wednesday to decide whether to oust CEO Jensen Huang, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the world's dominant supplier of AI processors grapples with reports of two extramarital affairs involving its longtime leader.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the board meeting.
Huang's potential departure would leave a leadership vacuum at the roughly $4 trillion chipmaker he co-founded and built over
more than three decades to become the top supplier of AI chips at the center of the global artificial-intelligence boom and US-China technology rivalry.
Huang, 63, has no obvious successor and owns about 3.6% of Nvidia's stock. He also has dozens of direct reports, underscoring the tight control he maintains over the company.
"Huang being removed immediately could be challenging for Nvidia since it does not have a succession plan in place ... If Mr. Huang broke the law or violated company policies, the board is likely to act as soon as they have proof," Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson, said.
The company's shares slid about 8% in after-hours trading after the Wall Street Journal first reported that Nvidia was preparing to oust Huang. Including Wednesday's after-hours selloff, Nvidia has lost about $600 billion in stock market value this week since the board announced its investigation into his relationship with a Chinese businesswoman.
Earlier in the day, the New York Times reported that Huang had also had an extramarital affair with a company executive who reported to him.
The relationship was with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, the New York Times said, citing five people who worked at the company.
When reached by phone Wednesday and asked about his relationship with Ms. Powell, Mr. Huang said, "I don't think you should be talking to me directly." He then hung up, the New York Times reported.
Nvidia and Powell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
LEADERSHIP UNCERTAINTY
The reports mark a sharp escalation in a controversy that began with revelations about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a woman US intelligence has said was involved in facilitating shipments of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms.
US stock futures sank, with Nasdaq futures down 1%. However, shares of rival chipmakers AMD and Broadcom rose 4% and 3%, respectively, in after-hours trading, which an analyst said reflected the view that those chip producers would pick up market share.
Investors and analysts said while demand for Nvidia's chips would be unlikely to drop in the near term, the broader universe of companies backed by the company might suffer.
"Nvidia is also at the centre of the circular financing which is providing capital to the investment boom," said Nick Ferres, chief investment officer at Vantage Point Asset Management in Singapore.
"They are financing their customers. In these types of booms or bubbles, sometimes all it takes is a slowdown to shift it into the bust phase."
In a memo to employees on Sunday, Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and took "full responsibility," but gave no details about the relationship.
The same day, Nvidia's board launched an investigation into whether Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The probe is being overseen by independent directors with outside legal counsel. At the time, the board expressed confidence in Huang.
US President Donald Trump has said he had not discussed the allegations with Huang but voiced support for the Nvidia chief, calling him "an honorable guy" who had "done an amazing job for our country."
Huang faces a potential congressional subpoena if he doesn't respond to a request to provide a closed-door briefing about the allegations that he had a close relationship with the Chinese businesswoman who passed information to Beijing.
Separately, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing high-level sources, that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stalled President Donald Trump's crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia's chips to China.
The White House and a spokesperson for Lutnick did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 with Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky. Its early hits were graphics chips for computer games, before its CUDA software opened the processors to general computing and, later, AI.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal, Prathik Jayaprakash in Bengaluru, Chris Thomas in Mexico City and Tom Westerbrook and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Leroy Leo, Sriraj Kalluvila and Sonali Paul)
