NVIDIA's board is preparing to remove CEO Jensen Huang, the Wall Street Journal reports, three days after saying it had confidence in him

NVIDIA's board is preparing to remove co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, The Wall Street Journal reported on November 11, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters, relaying the Journal's report, said the board could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide his future. NVIDIA has not announced a decision. At 23:50 UTC its newest SEC filing is a Form 4 from November 6, with no 8-K, and its newsroom has posted nothing since November 10.

WHAT IS REPORTED

• The Wall Street Journal, via Reuters: the board is preparing to oust Huang after two extramarital relationships, one of them with a woman suspected of spying for China.
• The New York Times, November 11, citing five people who worked at the company: Huang had a relationship with an NVIDIA vice president who reports to him. Reuters said NVIDIA did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
• CBS News, 23:32 UTC, citing two sources familiar with the matter: the board is preparing to oust Huang soon, and the Trump administration is aware of it. CBS said the Journal reported the board's moves first.
• CNBC: NVIDIA shares fell more than 7% in after-hours trading after the Journal's report.

WHAT NVIDIA HAS SAID

• November 8: Huang told staff in an email that he had been unfaithful to his wife. The board opened an independent investigation into reports that he was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. It said it had no reason to believe national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, and that it had confidence in Huang and his leadership team. A spokesperson told CNBC that Huang was committed to continuing as CEO without interruption.
• November 10: the independent directors said they had retained Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to run the investigation.

WHY IT MATTERS FOR AI

• NVIDIA is the dominant supplier of AI chips, and Huang has led it since he co-founded it in 1993.
• The woman in the first relationship is affiliated with Megaspeed, an NVIDIA customer accused of helping restricted Chinese companies obtain NVIDIA AI chips, CNBC reported. The New York Times and the Financial Times reported that U.S. intelligence agencies concluded she was passing information to Beijing. Reuters said it could not verify that, and China has denied it.
• In Washington, Senator Kevin Cramer has called for Huang to resign, and three House committee chairs have asked him to testify before their committees on November 18, CNBC reported. Lawmakers are also weighing tighter export controls on AI chips in this year's defense bill.

WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW

Whether the board meets tonight, what it decides, and who would lead NVIDIA if Huang leaves. NVIDIA has not named a successor. We will update this story when NVIDIA announces a decision or files an 8-K.