Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia and one of the most powerful figures in the artificial intelligence boom, is facing questions about his future at the company he co-founded more than three decades ago.
On Sunday, Mr. Huang acknowledged that he had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman who U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was a spy for Beijing. On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that he also had an extramarital relationship with an Nvidia executive who reports to him.
Here’s what to know.
What’s the latest with Nvidia and its chief executive?
Nvidia’s board met on Wednesday to discuss Mr. Huang’s future, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
The meeting followed a Times report that Mr. Huang had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, according to five people who worked for the company. Mr. Huang and Ms. Powell are married to other people.
Reached by phone, Mr. Huang said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” and hung up. Nvidia declined to comment, and Ms. Powell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nvidia’s shares fell more than 8 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The stock is down about a third from its peak in early October, a loss of more than $1.5 trillion in market value.
What did Mr. Huang admit?
Nvidia said on Sunday that it was opening an investigation into Mr. Huang after he told the board about his relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a company in Singapore that was buying advanced Nvidia A.I. chips. (Mr. Huang and Ms. Huang are not related.)
“I was unfaithful to my wife,” Mr. Huang said in a message to the company. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
Nvidia’s board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.” Mr. Huang has remained chief executive during the review.
Why Mr. Huang?
Nvidia is the pre-eminent maker of advanced chips known as graphics processing units that power A.I. The chips are so important to the development of the technology that the U.S. government has restricted sales of the most powerful ones to China since 2022. Other nations that want to compete in A.I. are hungry for these chips.
U.S. agencies conducting electronic surveillance of Ms. Huang concluded that she had a close relationship with Mr. Huang and was passing information to Beijing, The Times reported last month.
A memo that circulated among top U.S. officials this past spring cited intelligence that she was an asset of China’s Ministry of State Security. They concluded she had been recruited to gather information on Mr. Huang and potentially influence Nvidia to push for its most advanced chips to be made available to China. Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the memo’s drafting.
U.S. officials suspect Megaspeed, Ms. Huang’s company, has helped smuggle restricted chips into China. Beijing has called the allegations a smear against China.
How influential is Mr. Huang?
Few executives have had as much sway over Mr. Trump’s approach to A.I. and China as Mr. Huang. Last year, Mr. Huang persuaded the president to roll back a ban on chip sales to China. The two later struck a deal letting Nvidia sell its second-most-powerful chip there, with the U.S. government taking a 25 percent cut. Nvidia has donated at least $20 million to Mr. Trump’s ballroom fund.
Mr. Trump was briefed on the intelligence about Mr. Huang and Ms. Huang roughly a year ago and took no action. He was told again in May aboard Air Force One, before Mr. Huang joined him on a trip to Beijing, The Times reported. Current and former officials said the men’s close relationship had impeded efforts to rein in Nvidia’s chip sales abroad, stalling some Commerce Department investigations and proposed trade sanctions involving China or Nvidia.
Mr. Trump has stood by Mr. Huang. “I really believe him,” he said on Monday, recalling a conversation when Mr. Huang told him he did not know that Ms. Huang was a spy. Mr. Trump is scheduled to visit China again next week, but the Nvidia chief will not accompany him.
What does Nvidia’s code of conduct say?
Nvidia’s code of conduct, which opens with a letter from Mr. Huang, applies to every employee and board member. It lists “personal relationships” among the activities that may create a conflict of interest and says employees facing a conflict should remove themselves from related decisions and seek legal guidance.
In a section on bribery, the code also urges caution in dealing with people connected to a government. It asks staff to consider whether they could defend their conduct if it became public. Violations could lead to discipline, including termination, according to the code.
What’s next?
Nvidia’s board said a committee of independent directors, working with outside counsel, would oversee the inquiry. Besides Mr. Huang, the board has 10 members. They include Tench Coxe, a former venture capitalist who has been a director since 1993, the year Nvidia was founded; and Suzanne Nora Johnson, a former vice chairman of Goldman Sachs who joined in July.
Nvidia controls an estimated 90 percent of the market for the advanced chips used in A.I., and Mr. Huang has become the maestro of the artificial intelligence boom. If the board decides to punish him, there is no obvious successor to run the company. He is Nvidia’s largest individual shareholder, with a 3.56 percent stake.
The Republican leaders of three House committees have asked Mr. Huang to appear at a closed-door briefing this month. The Justice Department has taken over a federal investigation into Megaspeed.
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