SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 12 — Ousted Nvidia chief executive officer (CEO) Jensen Huang had an intimate relationship with a second employee, according to two people familiar with the matter, Reuters has learned.
The revelation follows two other extramarital affairs that led to his resignation Thursday. The two women are Alice Huang, whom United States intelligence suspects of being a Chinese spy, and Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care.
Reuters is not naming the second employee. Attempts to reach the woman were not successful.
Nvidia declined to comment. Powell, Jensen, and a representative for Nvidia's board did not reply to requests for comment, and Alice could not be reached.
Jensen admitted to an affair in a November 8 statement following the reports of his relationship with Alice, without referring to her by name.
The former Nvidia CEO's decision to resign could disrupt the artificial intelligence (AI) industry he helped shape. Nvidia has used its financial strength to help build an industry around AI through complex financial arrangements that make it easier to buy the company's chips, backing cloud computing companies and AI labs in order to do so.
Pressure on Jensen, who is 63 and married, to resign mounted after reports of his affair with Alice.
Nvidia's board appointed finance chief Colette Kress as interim CEO while it searches for a replacement for Jensen. The board is considering internal and external candidates.
Earlier this month, Nvidia's board launched a probe, led by independent directors with outside legal counsel, into whether Jensen had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. It also expressed confidence in him at the time.
Shares fell 5.5 per cent on Thursday in active trading. The stock has shed more than 30 per cent since its early October peak.
