Nvidia Corp.'s stock is bound for another steep selloff on the Wall Street for Thursday session as futures tied to the Jensen-Huang led semiconductor company plunged over 7% to around $162 levels as of 4:15 a.m. EST.
The shares which closed higher on Wednesday will likely face pressure after Nvidia was struck with a double whammy on reports claiming that the CEO had a second affair with an executive at his own company on Thursday.
At present, the top chipmaker's board is reportedly mulling Huang's ouster in face of these fresh controversies, stirring jitters in the mind of stakeholders and equity investors alike.
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Huang, alias the 'Taylor Swift of Tech', admitted to having an affair with a woman who is facing allegations of being a Chinese spy. The woman in question is allegedly Alice Huang, whom he met through her husband and Chinese businessman Kang Wei, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The bellwether semicon has already opened a probe into the affair Huang has admitted to have had, in addition to the FBI's own investigation. The development has shaken the AI world, as Nvidia has been a rock for AI-linked trade and is the world's second most valuable company.
In an email to employees on Sunday, Huang admitted to an extramarital affair, apologised to his family and colleagues, and said he would cooperate with the inquiry. He will remain CEO while the investigation is underway.
The inquiry follows reporting by The New York Times that US intelligence officials believed Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Nvidia customer Megaspeed, had passed information to Beijing. The Times reported that Jensen Huang acknowledged an intimate relationship with her to Nvidia's board. His email to employees did not name her. The two are unrelated.
In the email, Huang addressed his family and colleagues before turning to the national security concerns that prompted the board's inquiry.
The One-Two Love Punch For Huang Could Mean His Exit
Not long after the initial probe was opened, reports of a second affair that the Nvidia CEO allegedly had surfaced. The New York Times reported that Huang had an extramarital relationship with an Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell.
The Times cited five people who had worked at Nvidia. Two said the pair had been captured on video being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March. The Times said it had not seen the footage. Powell, Huang and Nvidia have not confirmed the account.
The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that the company's board was preparing to remove Huang from his position. The company has said it has no reason to believe that US national security or its business secrets have been compromised.
Huang co-founded Nvidia nearly three decades ago and has led the company through its growth into one of the world's largest technology companies.
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