Who could replace Jensen Huang? A highly unscientific list of possible successors

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According to reporting by TechCrunch AI, Nvidia has no succession plan and a CEO in hot water, so we’ve drafted a shortlist.

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It’s almost inconceivable that Nvidia would fire its rock star CEO. Yet here we are, on the precipice of this happening. Over at Kalshi, Jensen Huang’s odds of surviving the week are sitting at a lowly 30% . Even though he built one of the world’s most valuable — and, many would argue, dangerously powerful — companies, the tides have completely turned against him. He has confessed to an extramarital affair, but as of Wednesday afternoon it isn’t even clear whom he meant: Alice Huang, the Chinese executive suspected by U.S. intelligence of spying for her country, or Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia executive who reports to him and who, five sources told The New York Times in an explosive new report, was also a paramour.

Even if Huang is pushed out as CEO, the board members he has made very rich are unlikely to cut him loose entirely. Barring another shoe dropping, they could keep him on as chairman, a role Nvidia doesn’t currently have. But someone still has to run the company, and there’s no apparent succession plan, which leaves us, like everyone else, to speculate while we wait to see what happens next. While Huang’s 60 direct reports undoubtedly get a closer look, consider this our own parlor game, featuring some obvious and less obvious candidates:

Lisa Su . The AMD CEO runs Nvidia’s most credible rival, as well as a distant cousin of Huang. The Information floated her name this week, but why would she leave her job for his? Her company stands to benefit from every day that Nvidia spends distracted by an investigation, congressional briefings, and all the mini dramas that are sure to follow. Her best move might be to send a nice note and keep her current corner office.

Eric Schmidt. He was the pick of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, who we talked with earlier this week. Schmidt could “parachute in tomorrow and do a very good job,” Sonnenfeld said, and perhaps he could. He ran Google from 2001 to 2011, chaired the National Security Commission on AI from 2018 to 2021, and now runs the rocket company Relativity Space. Chips, software, government, rockets — it’s an impressive range. Then again, Schmidt would bring a lot of baggage when it comes to his own extramarital dalliances . It’s hard to see him clearing the board for that reason.

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Information in this article was compiled directly from records provided by TechCrunch AI. Access the primary source document at: https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/11/who-could-replace-jensen-huang-a-highly-unscientific-list-of-possible-successors/. Reporting and editorial review conducted by the USA NOW News Desk.