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Nvidia shares dropped roughly 4.5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the New York Times reported that CEO Jensen Huang had a second extramarital relationship, this one with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of health care, according to Crypto Briefing. The paper said five people who worked at Nvidia described the relationship, and that Huang, 63, and Powell, 48, are each married to other people.
The new allegation arrived while Nvidia’s board was already investigating an earlier relationship, which Huang acknowledged to employees on Sunday. US intelligence has concluded that the woman in that case, businesswoman Alice Huang, was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security, Wired reported. China has denied the espionage claim.
Also readNvidia Rejects Spy Claims Tied to CEO Jensen Huang
Key facts
- Nvidia stock fell about 4.5% in Wednesday after-hours trading following the Times report, per Crypto Briefing.
- Polymarket odds of Huang resigning or being removed by the end of 2026 rose to roughly 31%, up from near 16% earlier Wednesday, Crypto Briefing reported.
- Crypto Briefing reported that Nvidia’s board retained law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead its investigation of the Alice Huang matter.
- Protos reported that Nvidia’s bylaws let a majority of directors remove an officer at any time, with or without cause; six votes on the 11-member board are enough to fire the CEO.
- Three House committee chairs have asked Huang for a private briefing, with Protos and Wired both citing a tentative date of November 18; Nvidia reports earnings on November 17, per Protos.
Two relationships, one investigation
The Times account says two former employees saw Huang and Powell being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during Nvidia’s GTC conference in March, and that a bystander recorded the interaction, though the paper said it had not reviewed the video. Nvidia declined to comment to the Times on the new allegations, and Powell did not immediately respond; when the paper asked Huang about Powell, he declined to discuss it and ended the call.
The earlier matter has already cost the company heavily. Wired reported that Nvidia was on track to lose more than $470 billion in market value over two days after Huang told staff he had been unfaithful to his wife. The company’s code of conduct flags personal relationships as a possible conflict of interest, according to both Crypto Briefing and Protos.
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Who could remove Huang, and whether they would
Protos laid out two paths: the board can fire Huang as an officer by simple majority, or shareholders could attempt a supermajority vote to remove him as a director without cause. Protos reported that Huang beneficially owns 870.6 million shares, or 3.58% of Nvidia’s equity, worth about $150 billion, so he would remain a billionaire even if he left. His role is at will, and Protos noted the company’s proxy states it has no severance or change-in-control agreements with executive officers.
Political support has not collapsed outright. Protos reported that President Donald Trump said Huang should keep the job, calling him “an honorable guy” while conceding “you never know what is going on.” In Silicon Valley, Wired’s Zoë Schiffer said she had yet to find a peer CEO calling for Huang’s exit, though many described it as a serious lapse in judgment.
Why it matters
Huang has been one of the loudest voices in Silicon Valley against tight chip export controls, arguing that selling to China keeps Beijing dependent on American hardware. Wired reported that the White House was warned about the Alice Huang relationship in a memo drafted by Marco Rubio, and that the episode weakens the industry’s most prominent advocate for engagement as Democrats, fresh off midterm gains, take control of the House. For markets, the damage is measured in hundreds of billions of dollars of valuation rather than in chip supply, but the second allegation extends an investigation that could yet reach the CEO’s office.
What to watch
Nvidia reports earnings on November 17, and the closed-door House briefing with Huang has been tentatively set for November 18, giving investors and lawmakers the first direct look at how the board and the CEO handle the pressure.
This is not financial advice. Equity and prediction markets are volatile and the outcome of Nvidia’s board investigation is uncertain; readers should do their own research.
Sources: Wired, Crypto Briefing, Protos
