Who could replace Jensen Huang as NVIDIA CEO?
What's the story
NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang is facing a possible ouster, with his odds of survival at just 30%. The tech mogul has admitted to an extramarital affair, but it's still unclear who the other party was: Alice Huang, the Chinese executive suspected by US intelligence of spying for Beijing, or Kimberly Powell, an NVIDIA executive who reports to Jensen. This situation has led to speculation about potential successors for Jensen, despite there being no clear succession plan in place.
AMD CEO
Lisa Su: AMD CEO
Lisa Su, the current CEO of AMD, is one of the top contenders to replace Huang.
She runs NVIDIA's most credible rival and is a distant cousin of Huang.
However, it remains unclear why she would leave her current position for his, given that her company stands to gain from NVIDIA's distraction due to an investigation and congressional briefings.
Tech veteran
Eric Schmidt: Former Google CEO
Eric Schmidt, former CEO at Google and current head of rocket company Relativity Space, has also been mentioned as a potential successor.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld from Yale School of Management called him a good fit for the role.
However, his past extramarital affairs could be a hurdle in winning over NVIDIA's board members.
Chip expert and AI entrepreneur
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Bret Taylor, former Salesforce co-CEO
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who recently warned about disappointing fourth-quarter results due to the AI boom, could be another potential successor.
His chip expertise could help NVIDIA navigate through these tough times.
Another name that has come up is Bret Taylor, former Salesforce co-CEO and OpenAI board chair.
He now heads AI start-up Sierra and has a long history with major Silicon Valley brands.
Internal candidates
Ian Buck and Andrew Bell
Ian Buck, NVIDIA's VP who helped create CUDA software, is also a possible successor.
Analysts and former employees have floated him as a possible successor.
Another internal candidate could be Andrew Bell, NVIDIA's senior VP of hardware engineering.
Having joined the company 25 years ago as a fresh graduate from Cornell University, he has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
The wild card
Lori Huang: Jensen's wife
Jensen and Lori Huang met as lab partners in the early 1980s at Oregon State University, meaning she has been by his side since before NVIDIA was founded.
After graduation, she worked as a microchip engineer at Silicon Graphics before stepping back from her career to raise their family. She now co-manages the family's trusts.