Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang is reportedly attempting to maintain business as usual at the chipmaker amid fallout from his admitted extramarital affair. Gary Black has questioned whether his conduct warrants a much bigger reckoning.
Jensen Huang Tries to Maintain ‘Business As Usual’ At Nvidia
According to a CNBC report on Tuesday, Huang attended his regular Monday morning meeting with senior executives at Nvidia’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters, where he addressed his affair and apologized to employees before moving on to business priorities.
He reportedly did not take questions during the meeting and returned to the office Tuesday, just a week before Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report.
Employees described the atmosphere inside the company as “sad,” with longtime staff struggling to reconcile the revelations with their longstanding admiration for Huang.
Employees at the AI chip giant said Huang sought to maintain a “business as usual” approach even as the investigation into his affair with an alleged Chinese spy continued.
Nvidia’s board has hired law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for investigations.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
Gary Black Questions Jensen Huang’s Future As Nvidia CEO
Meanwhile, Black, co-founder and managing partner of The Future Fund, argued that the controversy goes beyond Huang’s personal life.
In a post on X Tuesday, Black questioned whether Huang “misled” the board about his relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based cloud computing provider Megaspeed International.
Megaspeed has faced a U.S. investigation over allegations that it smuggled Nvidia chips into China, which the company has denied. U.S. intelligence officials reportedly suspect Alice Huang of having links to Chinese intelligence.
“To me this is not about $NVDA CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with Chinese executive Alice Huang. It’s about whether he misled NVDA’s board about his involvement and potential conflict of interest with a major and geopolitically sensitive customer,” Black wrote on X.
Adding, “Did he use his stature as NVDA’s CEO to circumvent the U.S. ban on selling chips to China?”
He called Huang one of the greatest CEOs of his time, but said his contributions should not factor into the board’s decision on his future.
Price Action: Nvidia shares closed at $168.80 on Tuesday, down 5.53%. It gained 1% to $170.48 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
Benzinga Edge ranks Nvidia in the 14th percentile for Momentum and the 98th percentile for Growth.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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