Nvidia shares slip in after-hours trading on fresh allegations of CEO relationship

Nvidia shares fell about 3% in after-hours trading Wednesday evening after a new report alleged that chief executive Jensen Huang maintained an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of healthcare—a senior executive who reports to him.

The decline adds to weeks of pressure on the AI chip giant, whose stock has already been battered by revelations surrounding Huang’s previously acknowledged relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman identified by U.S. intelligence as a suspected spy. Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation into that matter, and Huang issued a company-wide apology admitting he had been “unfaithful to my wife.”

According to the circulating report, five people who worked at Nvidia described the relationship with Powell. The account claims Huang, 63, and Powell, 48—both married to other people—were seen being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during Nvidia’s GTC conference in March. A bystander reportedly filmed the interaction; company security is said to have sequestered the person and offered a nondisclosure agreement. The report notes that the video has not been independently viewed by the outlet.

Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 and has risen through the ranks to oversee the company’s healthcare and life-sciences strategy, including AI applications in medical imaging, drug discovery, and related platforms. Nvidia’s code of conduct instructs employees to avoid situations that create conflicts of interest, explicitly including personal relationships, and states that the company investigates reports of misconduct. Many large corporations maintain policies restricting or prohibiting romantic relationships between managers and subordinates precisely to avoid such conflicts.

Huang did not respond substantively when reached for comment on the Powell allegations, according to the report; he is said to have ended the call after stating, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly.” Nvidia declined to comment, and Powell did not immediately respond to inquiries.

The new claims arrive as Nvidia’s board continues its probe into Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang (no relation), an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, a significant Nvidia customer. U.S. officials have assessed that she was a Chinese intelligence asset. Huang has cooperated with the board inquiry, led by outside counsel including the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Republican leaders of several House committees have sought a closed-door briefing on the interactions. China has rejected the espionage allegations.

Investors have already priced in substantial uncertainty. The combination of personal conduct issues, potential governance concerns involving a direct report, and lingering national-security questions around the earlier relationship has weighed on the shares at a sensitive moment for the company, which remains central to the global AI infrastructure build-out. Further pressure could intensify scrutiny of succession planning and leadership stability, topics that have drawn attention given Huang’s outsized role in Nvidia’s rise.

As of Wednesday evening, the after-hours decline reflected traders’ reaction to the additional allegations on top of an already fraught situation. Nvidia has not issued a public statement addressing the Powell report. The board’s ongoing investigation and any further disclosures from Huang or the company will likely shape how markets assess the risks in the sessions ahead.