Nvidia's board of directors is reportedly preparing to remove co-founder and longtime CEO Jensen Huang from his position at the company he has led for the past 33 years, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Sources familiar with the matter told the publication that board members were scheduled to convene as early as Wednesday to deliberate over Huang's continued role at the helm of the semiconductor giant.

The developments follow a turbulent few days for Huang personally. On Sunday, he publicly acknowledged engaging in an extramarital affair with a woman who U.S. intelligence sources have reportedly identified as a Chinese spy. The situation escalated further on Wednesday evening when the New York Times reported that Huang had also carried on a separate affair with a company executive who falls within his direct chain of command.

Stock Takes a Sharp Hit Amid Leadership Uncertainty

The unfolding scandal has had an immediate and measurable impact on Nvidia's market performance. Shares in the company dropped approximately 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, and over the course of the past five trading days, the stock has declined by roughly 11%. The sell-off reflects investor concern over the stability of leadership at a company that has grown to become one of the most valuable in the world, largely on the strength of its dominance in the artificial intelligence chip market.

Nvidia designs the processors that underpin much of the current AI infrastructure boom, making it a central player in one of the most consequential technological shifts in recent memory. The company's meteoric rise in valuation has been closely tied to Huang's vision and his hands-on management style, which makes the prospect of a leadership transition particularly significant for investors and industry observers alike.

A Centralized Leadership Structure With No Clear Successor

One of the complicating factors in any potential leadership change is the degree to which Nvidia's operations are concentrated around Huang himself. He has previously stated that he maintains approximately 60 direct reports, an unusually high number that reflects a management philosophy built on minimal delegation. This structure, while credited with enabling fast decision-making and tight strategic alignment, also means that a sudden departure could leave a significant organizational gap.

Adding to that concern is the absence of any publicly identified successor or formal succession plan. Unlike some major technology companies that have groomed internal candidates for top leadership roles, Nvidia has not signaled who might step in to take over from Huang. That lack of preparation for a transition has become a focal point of concern for analysts and shareholders as the board weighs its options.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 alongside Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, and has served as its chief executive since the company's inception. Under his leadership, the company evolved from a graphics card manufacturer into a foundational force in high-performance computing and, more recently, artificial intelligence. The board's reported deliberations represent one of the most significant moments of uncertainty the company has faced in its three-decade history.