Nvidia board denies CEO candidate talks after Huang resignation

Nvidia's board of directors denied on Friday that it has held talks with any candidate to succeed Jensen Huang as chief executive, after it had approached the head of Arm Holdings.

The board said it was selecting a search firm for the role and that it had "not formally engaged any potential candidates". In a statement to CNBC journalist Seema Mody, who posted it on X, the board called speculation about individual candidates, internal or external, premature.

On November 13, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that the board had contacted Rene Haas, the head of the UK technology company Arm Holdings, who worked at Nvidia over 10 years ago. The newspaper said he was one of several candidates, with no guarantee he would be offered the job or accept it.

Huang stepped down as chief executive and president of Nvidia, the world's leading manufacturer of artificial intelligence chips, and resigned from the board. On November 8, the board announced an investigation into him. He admitted to having a romantic relationship with a woman who was allegedly suspected of spying for China.

China's Foreign Ministry said it considered allegations that a woman associated with Huang worked for Chinese intelligence to be slander.