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Nvidia’s board contacted Arm Chief Executive René Haas in its search for a successor to Jensen Huang after the chip giant’s co-founder’s career imploded in a cheating scandal, according to people familiar with the matter.
Haas, who has led the SoftBank-backed British chip company since 2022, worked at Nvidia for about seven years more than a decade ago and still maintains a strong relationship with Huang and some members of the company’s board.
Nvidia’s board is trying to keep the $4 trillion artificial intelligence chip company at the tech heartland after revelations that Huang had relationships with at least one subordinate and with a client that U.S. intelligence suspects of being a Chinese spy.
Haas was among a number of candidates to succeed Huang, and there was no guarantee he would be offered the job or accept it, the sources said.
The board said in a statement that it was “in the process of selecting a search firm” for the CEO position and had not “formally engaged” any candidate.
“Any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature.”
Huang announced his resignation on Thursday after 33 years as head of government. Harvey Jones, who has served on the board since the company’s founding in 1993, was named its first chairman. Colette Kress, CFO, serves as interim CEO of Nvidia.
Replacing Huang at the helm represents a huge challenge for a company where the co-founder exercised extensive central control and enjoyed a cult following among some employees and investors.
Huang’s permanent successor will also face a daunting task after the former CEO’s alleged affair with Alice Huang — a Singapore-based executive at client Megaspeed who is suspected by U.S. intelligence of being a Chinese spy — sparked deeper scrutiny of Nvidia’s internal management and governance.
Nvidia’s board is overseeing an independent investigation into Huang’s conduct, led by a former federal prosecutor. US lawmakers have announced plans to launch their own investigations as Nvidia’s technology is increasingly seen as a critical national security asset.
The next chief executive will also need to keep Nvidia ahead of rivals in the race to develop the most advanced AI chips in the coming years and manage its billions of dollars of deals that have helped fuel the AI boom.
Haas is considered one of the few outsiders likely to intervene at Nvidia, alongside Lisa Su, at the head of its main rival AMD. Internal candidates include Kress and Ian Buck, head of Nvidia’s data center business.
Huang mentored Haas during his time at Nvidia before leaving to join Arm in 2013. Nvidia then attempted to acquire Arm for $40 billion in 2020, but the deal later fell through due to regulatory issues.
Arm’s IP underpins most of the world’s smartphone chips and is also used in Nvidia’s AI hardware. But this year, Arm launched its own full-featured AI chip, a move that put the British group in direct competition with its own customers.
In addition to its ties to Nvidia, Haas has formed a close relationship with SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son, as the Japanese executive seeks to build an AI empire to rival Nvidia. Haas was named head of SoftBank’s international business in April.
Arm declined to comment. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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