Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) board has approached Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) CEO Rene Haas as it searches for a permanent replacement for Jensen Huang, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
- NVDA stock is down Friday. Get all the latest details here.
Haas has led the SoftBank-backed chip designer since 2022. Before joining Arm in 2013, he spent seven years at Nvidia as vice president and general manager of its computing products business, according to Arm’s corporate biography.
Haas still has a strong relationship with Huang and some board members, according to the FT report. The courses said he is one of several candidates, and there is no guarantee he will be offered the job or accept it.
Nvidia previously tried to acquire Arm in a $40 billion deal, but the companies abandoned the transaction in 2022 amid significant regulatory opposition. Nvidia also uses Arm’s processor technology in some products.
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A Week of Turmoil
The approach comes days after Huang’s abrupt exit. On Sunday, Huang admitted to an affair following reports of his relationship with Alice Huang, a suspected spy for China.
Nvidia’s board said it had confidence in its CEO, but by Thursday, it had accepted his resignation. Reuters also reported he had an intimate relationship with a second company employee.
Huang stepped down as CEO, president and board member, effective immediately, ending a 33-year run at the company he co-founded. President Donald Trump personally urged Huang to fight for his job during a phone call two days before the announcement, the New York Times reported.
CFO Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO, and longtime director Harvey Jones was appointed Nvidia’s first-ever board chair.
Price Action
Nvidia shares dropped nearly 30% over the past 30 days and touched a new 52-week low of $148.80 at Thursday’s open. Shares are headed for a sixth straight weekly drop, the longest slump since 2012.
Arm shares were down 5.5% Friday, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Chip peers also retreated, with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) down 10.24%, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) down 6.95% and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) down 3.09%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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