Jensen Huang built Nvidia into one of the world’s most valuable and influential technology companies, yet he is now facing unusual pressure: Kalshi markets put his chance of surviving the week as CEO at roughly 30%. The immediate cause is Huang’s admission of an extramarital affair, but as of Wednesday afternoon it was unclear which relationship he referenced — Alice Huang, a Chinese executive whom U.S. intelligence has suspected of spying for China, or Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia executive who reports to him and who, according to five sources cited in a New York Times report, was also involved.
Potential consequences of a removal
If Huang were removed as CEO, the board that has profited significantly from Nvidia’s share gains would likely be reluctant to cut him off entirely. One option would be to keep him on as chairman — Nvidia does not currently have a separate chairman role — while installing new day-to-day leadership. There is no obvious, public succession plan, however, leaving employees, investors and observers to speculate. Huang has about 60 direct reports who are likely under close scrutiny as the company weighs next steps.
Candidates — internal and external
Below are the individuals most often discussed as plausible successors, spanning rivals, industry veterans and internal technologists.
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Lisa Su: CEO of AMD and one of Nvidia’s main competitors. The Information mentioned her name this week, but it’s not obvious why she would leave AMD; her company benefits from any period in which Nvidia is distracted by investigations, congressional inquiries and internal turmoil.
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Eric Schmidt: Proposed by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management. Schmidt ran Google from 2001 to 2011, chaired the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence from 2018 to 2021, and currently leads Relativity Space. His cross-cutting experience with chips, software, government and rockets could be valuable, although his own history of extramarital relationships could present reputational issues for a board considering him.
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Lip-Bu Tan: CEO of Intel, experienced in chips and potentially open to a high-profile move. Intel reported last month that third-quarter revenue rose 21% to $16.5 billion, then warned fourth-quarter results could miss Wall Street expectations. The AI-driven memory-chip shortage has driven up PC prices and cut PC sales, hurting Intel; following the warning its shares fell about 20% in after-hours trading, and the stock had already slid more than 30% since September.
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Bret Taylor: Former Salesforce co-CEO and former chair of OpenAI’s board, now leading AI startup Sierra. Taylor’s résumé includes co-creating Google Maps, serving as Facebook CTO and chairing Twitter’s board during its sale to Elon Musk. He is known as a calm, steady operator and likely has relationships with many of Nvidia’s customers.
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Ian Buck: Nvidia vice president who helped develop CUDA, the software layer central to Nvidia’s AI leadership. Analysts and former employees have floated him as a successor; Kalshi traders give him a middling chance. He is not a household name but his Stanford PhD and engineering background make him a plausible internal candidate, particularly if Huang remains as chairman and backs a successor.
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Someone else from inside: Andrew Bell, senior vice president of hardware engineering, joined Nvidia 25 years ago as a Cornell graduate and has risen through the ranks. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress is often named as an insider candidate, but analysts note she may not be the natural choice for an innovator/visionary role; Bell’s chip pedigree could make him attractive.
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The wildcard: Lori Huang. Not publicly floated as a candidate, she nevertheless has long ties to Jensen Huang — they met as lab partners at Oregon State. Lori Huang worked as a microchip engineer at Silicon Graphics earlier in her career (Huang has noted she earned more than him at one point), later scaled back to raise the family, and now co-manages the family trusts. If the board values continuity and family stewardship, a quieter but technically capable Lori Huang could be considered.
Industry implications
Any leadership transition at Nvidia would have important repercussions for the semiconductor and AI sectors. A well-managed succession could preserve Nvidia’s momentum; a prolonged, disruptive change at the top could undermine customer and investor confidence and create openings for competitors such as AMD. The board’s choice will shape how the company navigates reputational risk and operational continuity in the coming weeks.
For now, the outcome remains uncertain. In the near term the market and the industry will be watching closely to see whether the board installs an external heavy-hitter, elevates an internal technologist, or opts for some hybrid solution that keeps Huang in a non-executive role while delegating day-to-day control.
