Key facts
- Nvidia's board was meeting to decide CEO Jensen Huang's future, a person familiar told Reuters, after earlier expressing confidence in him.
- TSMC shares traded 2% lower and SK Hynix fell 1.6%, while Samsung Electronics rose 0.8%, according to the secondary report.
- An executive at a Taiwanese supplier said a new CEO 'may not be as aggressive as Jensen' on capacity commitments.
- Huang said in May that Nvidia planned to invest about $150 billion a year in Taiwan, according to the secondary report.
Nvidia and U.S. government probes into CEO Jensen Huang and his affair with an alleged Chinese spy have hit the AI chip company's shares this week and led to a quick resignation, Nikkei Asia reported on November 13, 2026. The report, from PALO ALTO and TAIPEI, said industry executives and analysts warned the fallout could affect other chipmakers and the whole AI supply chain. It did not specify the size of Nvidia's share move.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Nvidia's board was meeting late on Wednesday to decide Huang's future, a shift from Sunday, when the board expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team, according to the secondary report. Two unnamed Nvidia candidates for the role were identified by analysts and investors as Ian Buck and Colette Kress. Nvidia did not comment in either report.
Suppliers in Taiwan, South Korea and elsewhere were reviewing plans. An executive at a Taiwanese supplier, who sought anonymity because the subject is sensitive, said: "We will support whatever capacity Nvidia needs, but the new CEO may not be as aggressive as Jensen." Another official at a South Korean chip company questioned whether a potential successor would keep the same relationship with suppliers.
Market reaction was mixed on the day of the report. TSMC shares traded 2% lower, SK Hynix fell 1.6% and Samsung Electronics rose 0.8%, according to the secondary report. All three companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Huang built Nvidia's supplier network through frequent visits to Taiwan and ties to TSMC, Foxconn and Wistron. In May, he said Nvidia planned to invest about $150 billion a year in Taiwan, the secondary report said. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities said Huang's ability to turn engineering ideas into products gave the supply chain strong order visibility.