SAN FRANCISCO / WASHINGTON — The future of NVIDIA Corp. leader Jensen Huang is hanging in the balance as the company’s board of directors reportedly moves closer to considering his dismissal. The dramatic turn of events comes just days after the high-profile chief executive admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman suspected of having ties to Chinese espionage.

The scandal, which has rapidly escalated from a personal indiscretion into a severe national security and corporate governance crisis, sent shockwaves through the market, causing NVIDIA's shares to plunge roughly 8% in after-hours trading.

From Private Affair to National Security Threat

The board’s sudden shift toward discussing Huang's ouster stems from growing anxieties that the fallout has breached geopolitical red lines. Just three days earlier, the board had announced an independent investigation led by outside legal counsel while publicly expressing confidence in Huang and the executive team, maintaining that no classified data or national security boundaries had been compromised.

However, subsequent investigative reports have upended that cautious stance. According to The Information, the woman involved—identified as Alice Huang (Chinese name: Huang Le)—allegedly leveraged her relationship with the CEO to smuggle roughly $7.5 billion worth of restricted NVIDIA artificial intelligence chips into China, bypassing strict U.S. export controls.

The revelation has ignited fierce bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers from both parties demanding intense congressional inquiries and pushing for Huang's immediate departure. Industry analysts note that as Huang becomes viewed as a potential vulnerability to national security, keeping him at the helm poses an untenable risk for the tech giant.

Additional Misconduct Allegations Surface

Compounding the geopolitical pressures, fresh allegations of internal misconduct have emerged. The New York Times reported that Huang was also involved in an extramarital relationship with Kimberley Powell, NVIDIA’s Vice President of Healthcare. Both Huang and Powell are married.

According to the report, witnesses observed the two displaying public affection at a hotel near the SAP Center in San Jose, California, during NVIDIA’s annual GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in March. Sources indicated that Huang’s security detail subsequently pressured witnesses to sign non-disclosure agreements regarding the incident.

Market Turmoil and Succession Speculation

The mounting crises have taken a heavy toll on investor sentiment. NVIDIA shares plummeted 8.1% in after-hours trading to $159.59, bringing the stock’s total decline to over 13% since the scandal first broke.

As speculation mounts over a potential leadership change, Wall Street and tech insiders are already eyeing possible successors. Potential candidates frequently mentioned include Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress and Ian Buck, Vice President of Hyperscale and HPC, who spearheaded the development of NVIDIA's foundational CUDA software platform. Interestingly, some observers have also floated family-internal possibilities, including Huang’s eldest daughter, Madison Huang, and her husband, Vice President Nico Caprez.

Ripple Effects on Global Supply Chains

Should Huang be removed, the shockwaves are expected to extend far beyond Silicon Valley, casting a shadow over international semiconductor partners.

As the central architect of NVIDIA’s massive technological roadmap, Huang’s sudden departure could trigger corporate paralysis, delaying upcoming GPU production schedules. Such delays would inevitably ripple through the global memory supply chain—most notably impacting South Korean chipmakers like SK Hynix, which maintains a heavy reliance on NVIDIA for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply contracts, potentially stalling their revenue recognition and short-term manufacturing targets.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]