Nvidia row intensifies: Ex-CEO Jensen Huang was in relationship with second employee, claims report

Nvidia controversy latest: Ousted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had an intimate relationship with a second employee. The name of the woman is not known, Reuters reported, citing people aware of the matter.

The revelation comes after two other extramarital affairs led to Huang quitting Nvidia on Thursday evening. The two women are Alice Huang, who is suspected of being a Chinese spy, and Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare.

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Colette Kress named as interim CEO

In a statement on November 8, Huang admitted to an affair after reports of his relationship with Alice Huang surfaced, without mentioning her name. Later, Nvidia's board named finance chief Colette Kress as the interim CEO and appointed Harvey C Jones as its first-ever board chair as it conducts a search to replace Jensen Huang.

Colette Kress will continue to oversee Nvidia's finances while the board searches for a permanent successor to Jensen Huang.

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Nvidia looking for permanent successor

The board has started its search for a permanent CEO and is considering its internal talent pool as well as external candidates for the job. Bloomberg reported that Nvidia was working with an outside company to identify Huang's potential successors.

Nvidia launched a probe, led by independent directors with outside legal counsel, into whether the ousted CEO was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Nvidia shares fell 5.5% on Thursday ​in active trading. The stock has lost more than 30% of its value since its early October ​peak.

Jensen Huang's China support comes under scrutiny

After his resignation as Nvidia CEO amid reports of an alleged extramarital affair with a suspected Chinese spy, Jensen Huang's longstanding support for maintaining technology ties has come under scrutiny. In an interview with journalist Emily Chang, he criticised the US' restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports to China.

In this interview recorded weeks before the controversy, Huang argued that limiting access to American tech could strengthen Chinese competitors. On US policies restricting Nvidia's access to China, Huang said, "I think we made a mistake, and this mistake is hard to unwind, but I did my best."

He added, "I've been very clear that even though, although we compete against China, they're not our enemies." He further said that maintaining ties with China was important for commercial interests and global AI development.

"I did my best to inform the policymakers in the United States of the importance of engaging the Chinese market and making sure that we serve that market for as long as we can," he said.

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