Nvidia's board meets to decide Jensen Huang's future; the chipmaker has lost about $600 billion in value this week
Shares fell about 8.6% in late trading after a Wall Street Journal report that the board was preparing to remove the CEO who has run Nvidia for 33 years.
- After-hours fall on 11 Nov: about 8.6%
- Value lost this week: about $600 billion
- Huang's stake: about 3.6%
What happened
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia's board was preparing to oust co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, and Reuters reported that the board was meeting to decide his future. Nvidia shares fell about 8.6% in after-hours trading. Counting that drop, the world's most valuable chipmaker has lost about $600 billion in market value this week.
As of Thursday morning India time, no decision had been announced, and Nvidia had not commented.
Why the board is involved
Days ago Huang admitted to an affair, and reports said US officials suspect the woman of working for Chinese intelligence; China denies this. Nvidia's board hired the law firm Wachtell Lipton to investigate and said it had no reason to think national security or company secrets were compromised. New reports on Wednesday raised questions about a second relationship, with an employee who reports to him.
Why it matters
Huang has led Nvidia since founding it in 1993, and its chips power most of the world's AI systems. He owns about 3.6% of the company, and analysts say there is no obvious successor. Bloomberg reported the board is working with an outside firm on possible successors and has discussed an interim CEO. Some commentators expect him to stay with tighter oversight instead. Investors everywhere, including in Indian IT and AI stocks, are watching the outcome.
