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Nvidia announced on November 12 that Jensen Huang had resigned as chief executive after the board launched an investigation prompted by reports of his relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at the Singapore-based firm Megaspeed. The New York Times reported that US authorities concluded Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset, a claim that Beijing has rejected as entirely groundless. Huang acknowledged in a statement that he had been unfaithful to his wife, saying he was deeply sorry and that there was no excuse for what he did, according to accounts carried by Reuters and the BBC. Nvidia named chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive.
The company’s board stated it had no reason to believe that company secrets or national security had been compromised, Reuters reported. Further reporting by the New York Times and Reuters revealed that Huang had additional extramarital relationships, including one with Nvidia vice president of healthcare Kimberly Powell and reportedly with another unnamed employee. Nvidia shares fell sharply in the days after the initial disclosures, with the company shedding roughly 1.6 trillion dollars in market capitalization since early October according to CNBC data.
President Donald Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Huang, who said he had no idea the woman was a spy, and that he believed him. The New York Times reported that Trump had been briefed on the intelligence findings about a year earlier but chose not to act on the information and continued to maintain a close relationship with Huang. Trump described Huang as an honourable guy who had done an incredible job, according to remarks carried by multiple outlets including the BBC.
The scandal has focused attention on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after reports that his department froze an investigation into Megaspeed over suspected diversion of advanced Nvidia chips to China. The New York Times reported that Nvidia’s general counsel contacted Commerce Department investigators invoking a senior Trump appointee before the case was handed to the Justice Department. The Guardian reported that White House officials have discussed whether Lutnick should be removed from his position as a result of the handling of the matter.
Senator Tim Scott has summoned both Huang and Lutnick to testify before the Senate Banking Committee in December, citing serious concerns about national security and protection of sensitive US technology in a post on X. The Associated Press reported that the episode has prompted renewed examination of Huang’s travels with Trump, including a trip to Beijing aboard Air Force One in May after the intelligence memo had circulated. Reuters reported that the FBI is investigating the affair, though Trump said he did not regret not acting sooner on the earlier intelligence.
Megaspeed purchased billions of dollars worth of Nvidia technology in November 2025, according to a Bloomberg report, while the firm has denied any illegitimate use of the products. The New Yorker noted that Huang had emerged as a close adviser to Trump on artificial intelligence policy and had donated 25 million dollars to one of the president’s projects. A proposed class-action lawsuit filed in California alleges that Nvidia and Huang defrauded shareholders by concealing information about the relationships, according to Reuters.
