Nvidia Board Opens Probe Into CEO Jensen Huang After Affair Admission
Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang after he admitted an affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese executive accused of spying for Beijing. Huang stays in his job while the inquiry runs, and the company says it will not slow Nvidia.
Nvidia's board of directors has opened an independent investigation into chief executive Jensen Huang after he admitted to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese executive accused of spying for Beijing, according to media reports. Jensen Huang stays on as CEO while the probe runs.
Nvidia is the world's most valuable company. The case lands in a sensitive area, because the United States and China are racing to develop advanced AI systems with potential military uses.
What Huang told employees
In a company-wide letter, Huang wrote: "I was unfaithful to my wife." He said his actions hurt her and their children, and that he was "deeply sorry".
He also addressed the national security concerns raised in news reports. "I support the investigation and will cooperate fully," he wrote.
A Nvidia spokesperson said: "Today's news will not slow NVIDIA." The spokesperson added that Huang is committed to leading the company as CEO "without interruption".
Who is Alice Huang
Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a Chinese citizen. She is not related to Jensen Huang, the 63-year-old Taiwanese-born chief executive, despite the shared surname.
Media reports say Beijing recruited her to gather intelligence on him. They describe her as a fluent English speaker with connections at the highest levels of the global AI chip industry. Public details about her are scarce.
A Chinese investment fund database carries a brief profile that lists past work at HSBC and as a reporter for CCTV and Hunan TV. The news agency AFP said it could not verify that profile or establish who compiled it.
Megaspeed and the chip question
US officials concluded last year that Alice Huang was targeting Jensen Huang as part of a spying operation, according to media reports. She was reportedly a senior executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based data center company that rents computing power to other businesses for training and running AI systems.
Megaspeed's website calls the company "a core business partner of Nvidia's computing power cloud business in the Asia-Pacific region". On LinkedIn it lists offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, with between two and 10 employees. The Singapore government's website shows it was previously known as 7Road International.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly drafted a memo to senior Trump administration officials warning that Huang was in a close relationship with Alice Huang. The memo also said Megaspeed provides computing power to the Chinese giant Alibaba.
US officials fear Megaspeed may have served as a backdoor for funneling export-controlled Nvidia chips to China. Washington restricts exports of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips to China, citing national security.
Public appearances together
A photograph from a 2024 industry party, posted on LinkedIn, appears to show Huang seated next to a woman believed to be Alice Huang. The following year, both attended a dinner Huang hosted at a Chinese restaurant in Taipei during Computex, Taiwan's leading technology trade show. Livestream footage from the press showed the two together, and they later left in the same car.
Washington context
Jensen Huang has acted as a close adviser to the Trump administration on AI and joined President Donald Trump on a trip to Beijing in May. Trump previously approved sales of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms despite a bipartisan push for stricter export controls.
A newly Democratic Congress is poised to press for tighter controls on such technology. Nvidia has not said when the board's investigation will finish.
