Nvidia’s board of directors is preparing to oust co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, the Wall Street Journal reported on November 11, citing people familiar with the matter – the dramatic peak of a crisis Nvidia investors and rivals have watched unroll over the past two weeks. The saga began with revelations about Huang’s personal relationships and has since pulled in questions of national security, congressional scrutiny and a possible investor lawsuit. Directors were meeting as soon as Wednesday to decide his future, and a final decision had not been confirmed as of Thursday morning.
The report immediately rattled the market. After an already bruising week, Nvidia shares fell about 5% in early trading Thursday, extending losses that wiped roughly $600 billion from the company’s market value across the week.
How the Jensen Huang Crisis Unfolded
The trouble escalated in stages. On November 8, Nvidia’s board launched an independent investigation into whether Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation and retained outside counsel – reportedly Wachtell, Lipton and Katz. The board said it had “no reason to believe” US national security or company secrets were affected.
Then came the personal dimension: the New York Times reported a second extramarital affair, this time with a company vice president, following Huang’s earlier acknowledged relationship with an executive identified by US intelligence as a suspected Chinese intelligence asset. Nvidia initially denied that relationship before Huang acknowledged it.
Fallout Beyond the Boardroom
The consequences are already spreading. Reuters reported an FBI investigation, calls for congressional hearings and a review by independent directors. A proposed investor class action would cover shareholders who bought Nvidia stock between October 9 – when the company denied the Times’ reporting – and November 8.
Senators have entered the fray as well, with Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons asking the administration to preserve all documents tied to Nvidia H200 exports to China and the Huang affair. Commerce is simultaneously finalizing export-control updates aimed at closing the remote-access loophole that has let Chinese firms route around chip restrictions.
What Comes Next for Nvidia
Governance gaps make the moment more precarious. At a company worth trillions, Nvidia has no COO, no chairman and no formal succession plan; CFO Colette Kress and lead director Stephen Neal have been cited as possible interim leaders if the board moves against Huang. Whether the board ultimately votes to push him out, the episode has already forced the question the market least expected to confront in 2026: what happens to Nvidia when Jensen Huang is no longer the answer to every hard question.
Story developing; the board’s decision had not been officially confirmed at publication. Reports via the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and MarketWatch.
