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11/9/2026
11/10/2026
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to an affair, with potentially far-reaching consequences. US intelligence authorities believe that he was involved with a Chinese spy, Alice Huang (unrelated to Jensen Huang). She got close to the Nvidia CEO as an executive of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer of the American chipmaker. US government suspects Megaspeed of smuggling Nvidia chips to China.
President Donald Trump was briefed about the findings around a year ago but did not act on it, according to New York Times. China has denied the US intelligence as “groundless speculation.”
Nvidia CEO admitted to the affair in a press release: “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.”
Nvidia’s board has kicked off an independent investigation. The board says it has “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.”
Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has spent 33 years molding it into the one of the world’s most valuable companies and the driver of the AI boom. Roughly 60 senior executives report directly to him, and the company has no publicly identified successor. The Economist magazine named Huang as the world’s best CEO of 2023.
All this means Nvidia has a huge key-person risk: when so much depends on one individual, losing that person can disrupt strategy, decision-making, and investor confidence. Huang only holds about 3.6% of Nvidia's shares and voting powers, making him vulnerable.
Nvidia shares sank 6% when US markets opened on Monday as investors weighed the threat to Jensen Huang’s leadership and the company’s reputation. While the hit is substantial, it seems like investors believe the CEO will stick around.
Crucially, Nvidia’s board says it still “has confidence” in Huang.
This may change if evidence emerges that he compromised company information or national security. Jensen Huang has been asked to appear for a closed-door briefing before three US House committees, a move that could potentially escalate into a formal government investigation. President Trump said FBI is looking into Huang, too.
A CEO runs a company day to day, but there’s a group above them: the board of directors. Shareholders elect directors to oversee management and protect their interests. That includes investigating the CEO when serious issues arise.
Jensen Huang is both Nvidia’s CEO and a director, so he cannot investigate himself. Nvidia says independent directors, helped by outside lawyers, will handle the inquiry.
Nvidia's board has some unusual features:
That longevity could become a problem: can directors who have worked with Huang for decades judge him impartially?
Jensen Huang has lobbied for less stringent rules for chip exports to China, making the spy scandal particularly damaging. The US still restricts the most advanced AI chips over fears they could strengthen China’s military and AI capabilities. But President Trump recently allowed Nvidia to sell its powerful H200 chips to approved buyers.
That screening system is now under suspicion, too. The New York Times found that some approved firms had links to blacklisted companies, while two appeared to have little or no presence at their registered offices.
All of this could make Washington more reluctant to let Nvidia sell chips to China.