Nvidia tumbles over 12% in pre-market trading after Huang's exit

US stock futures slid on Thursday as Nvidia shares plunged over 12% after Jensen Huang stepped down as the chipmaker’s CEO, triggering a broader sell-off in artificial intelligence-linked stocks. The leadership shake-up at the $4 trillion company rattled investor sentiment, adding to concerns over an AI sector already grappling with funding uncertainties and regulatory scrutiny.Dow futures edged down 23 points, or 0.04%, to 52,555, while S&P 500 futures shed 43.75 points, or 0.57%, to 7,596.75. Nasdaq futures led the losses, falling 352.25 points, or 1.24%, to 28,121, as Nvidia shares plunged 12.50%.Nvidia's board had met on Wednesday to discuss Huang's position after allegations that the 63-year-old had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman suspected by US authorities of spying for Beijing. Reports also alleged that he had an affair with a senior Nvidia executive who reported to him.The controversy has raised concerns about the future of the $4 trillion chipmaker and the wider AI ecosystem, which Huang helped build by directing Nvidia's growing cash reserves towards cloud providers, suppliers and major research laboratories. The company's practice of financing infrastructure built around its chips has also attracted scrutiny over circular funding.Other AI stocks fall tooThe sell-off spread across AI-linked companies, with Oracle shares falling 3%, Micron Technology dropping nearly 5% and Intel declining more than 3%.