Nvidia co-founder and chief executive Jensen Huang may be removed from the company he built, after reports of a second relationship surfaced. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the board of the chipmaker could meet to decide his future, in what would be a dramatic fall for one of the most powerful figures in the technology industry.
The New York Times has reported that Huang, 63, was in a relationship with Kimberly Powell, 48, a vice president in the company's healthcare division. The report says a video of the two has surfaced, in which they are seen in affectionate conversation. The report does not say when the video was recorded.
This follows Huang's admission on Sunday that he had a relationship with Alice Huang, a senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore based firm. US officials suspect the woman, who is of Chinese origin, of being a Chinese spy. Huang has not been accused of any wrongdoing by any authority, and the reports describe the relationships as allegations under examination by the board.
Board weighs his future
The Nvidia board began an inquiry on Sunday, the same day Huang admitted the relationship with Alice Huang. Huang has pledged to cooperate with the inquiry. The board has not announced any decision, and no date for a decision has been confirmed publicly.
Bloomberg has reported that Nvidia is working with an outside firm on a search for a new chief executive, and is also considering appointing an interim chief executive. The reports do not name any candidate, and the company has not commented on a succession plan.
Congress has also summoned Huang for a briefing on the matter. Shareholders have filed a petition against Huang and the company, saying investors were not told about the issue.
Shares swung sharply
Nvidia shares fell for two days after the affair reports came to light. On Wednesday the stock fell by as much as 10 percent during the day, before recovering to close 2.92 percent higher. The swing shows how closely the market is watching a leadership question at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom.
Huang holds about 3.4 percent of Nvidia. He is ranked 13th among the world's richest people, with a net worth of 145 billion dollars, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The world's second most valuable company
Nvidia is worth 4.195 trillion dollars, making it the second most valuable company in the world after Apple, which is valued at 5.168 trillion dollars. The rise of artificial intelligence has driven a sharp rise in Nvidia shares in recent years. Most of its processors are made by Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker.
Huang is counted among the most influential figures in the technology world, alongside Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, and he is also seen as close to US President Donald Trump. For now, the question facing Nvidia's board is whether the man who built the company into an artificial intelligence giant can stay at its head.
