Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Hired Crisis PR Firm Heller in Oct 2025
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has used the crisis communications firm Heller since at least October 2025, a year before he admitted an affair with a woman US intelligence reportedly suspects of spying for China. Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has used the crisis communications firm Heller to handle his behind-the-scenes communications since at least October 2025, according to two sources familiar with the matter. That is a year before he admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman US intelligence officials reportedly suspect of being a Chinese spy.
Nvidia's board of directors has announced an independent investigation into Huang's activities. It said it has no reason to believe national security or confidential Nvidia information has been compromised.
Who Heller is
Risa Heller, the firm's founder, has a reputation as a fixer for powerful men facing allegations of sexual misconduct and other personal controversies, according to a 2023 New York magazine profile. Past clients and people who sought her advice include former congressman Anthony Weiner, chef Mario Batali and writer Jeffrey Toobin.
Heller also handles corporate communications and issues unrelated to personal controversies.
The firm's consultants were first believed to have been hired for matters tied to Huang's personal life, including his family's philanthropic work, people familiar with the arrangement said. They communicated often with Huang and his daughter Madison, a product marketing director at Nvidia. It is not clear whether Heller's early work for the family involved the affair.
How the affair surfaced
In 2024, Huang began appearing in public with a woman who goes by Alice Huang, a former executive at the Singapore-based chip buyer Megaspeed. She has no known relation to Jensen Huang.
Megaspeed was created in 2023 when it split off from a Chinese gaming and cloud computing firm, a few months after Washington began restricting exports of advanced chips to China. A Megaspeed subsidiary later became a major buyer of Nvidia chips.
In early October 2025, the Times published a lengthy report on Huang's dealings with Megaspeed and his connection to Alice. It alleged the US Commerce Department was investigating whether Megaspeed was helping Chinese firms evade American export controls through its subsidiaries.
The report raised tensions among Nvidia's top ranks, and Huang was rankled by it, sources said. By the end of that month, Nvidia's internal communications teams had been told to include Heller's firm on any press inquiry about Huang, personal or professional.
US intelligence officials have determined that Alice is a spy working for the Chinese government, according to the Times. Nvidia first said Huang's interactions with her were routine business with clients.
Huang later acknowledged the relationship was romantic. In an email to Nvidia staff, he said he owed them and his family an apology.
Heller's founder worked for then-Democratic congresswoman Jane Harman of California and later served as Democratic senator Chuck Schumer's New York City press secretary. Nvidia's head of public policy communications, John Rizzo, also worked for Schumer, as deputy communications director.
A representative for Heller referred questions to Nvidia, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In his email, Huang wrote: "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry."
