Key facts
- The New York Times reported Huang is accused of an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care.
- The Times said five Nvidia employees told it of the alleged affair and of video of the two at a San Jose, Calif., hotel.
- The Wall Street Journal reported Nvidia's board was preparing to oust Huang, who co-founded the company in 1993.
- Two House Republicans said Congress was preparing to subpoena Huang over spy allegations if he did not respond to a summons.
- Nvidia declined to comment immediately, and Reuters said it could not independently substantiate the report.
- Longbow's Jake Dollarhide said the board would probably seek an established tech executive as interim CEO.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is accused of a second extramarital affair, with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, the New York Times reported on November 11, 2026. The newspaper said five Nvidia employees told it of the alleged affair and said Huang and Powell were captured on video being affectionate at a San Jose, Calif., hotel during a conference earlier in the year. Powell, like Huang, is married, the Times said.
Nvidia's board had already begun an investigation into an affair Huang publicly admitted, according to the report. The Times noted that Nvidia, like many companies, has rules discouraging relationships between superiors and employees in subordinate roles. TechCrunch said it reached out to Nvidia for comment and the company did not respond in the report.
Two House Republicans said on November 11, 2026 that Congress was preparing to subpoena Huang over spy allegations if he did not voluntarily respond to their summons to a closed-door briefing. Late that day, after reports of the second affair were published, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia's board was preparing to oust Huang, who co-founded the company in 1993. A director could hold a meeting to discuss Huang's future as of that Wednesday, according to people familiar with the situation cited by the Journal. Nvidia declined to comment immediately, and Reuters said it was unable to independently substantiate the report.
Longbow Asset Management CEO Jake Dollarhide said the board would probably look for an established tech executive, adding: "The board's thinking, we have to have a home run at least as far as an interim CEO, if not, the permanent replacement." D.A. Davidson managing director Gil Luria said: "Mr. Huang being removed immediately could be challenging for Nvidia since it does not have a succession plan in place." He said the board would probably act when it has concrete information of a violation of law or company policy.
Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston said a change at the top could carry reputational risk but would not affect Nvidia's product roadmap, saying: "The new person coming in isn't going to derail their product suite." Weston said AMD and Broadcom shares rose in after-hours trading on the day of the report and that other chipmakers could take some market share. Bruce Zaro of Granite Wealth Management said Nvidia has about 42,000 employees and that Huang has been the driving force behind the company's growth.