Jensen Huang Scandal: Spies, Affairs, Board Ouster
Original: The unfolding Jensen Huang scandal: a timeline
Why This Matters
Nvidia controls AI chip supply; leadership instability ripples across the entire AI industry.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, 63, admitted an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed exec U.S. officials believe is a Chinese spy. A second affair with VP Kimberly Powell emerged Nov. 11; Nvidia's board is reportedly preparing to remove him.
Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia and built it into the dominant AI chip supplier, now faces a scandal with both personal and national security dimensions. U.S. officials believe his romantic interest, Alice Huang — a Chinese citizen and executive at Singapore-based AI infrastructure firm Megaspeed — has been feeding intelligence to Beijing. The two are not related. Megaspeed reportedly bought $4.8 billion in Nvidia chips over two years; both the U.S. and Singapore had already probed it for allegedly re-routing chips to China. The Justice Department has since taken over that federal investigation.
On November 11, the New York Times added a second layer: Huang also reportedly had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's VP of healthcare and a direct report. The pair were allegedly filmed "being affectionate" at a hotel during a conference. Huang, reached by a Times reporter, said "I don't think you should be talking to me directly" and hung up. Nvidia and Powell have not confirmed the report.
The same day, the Wall Street Journal reported Nvidia's board is preparing to meet to discuss Huang's future. Shares dropped roughly 8% in after-hours trading and are down 11% over five days. Nvidia has no clear succession plan — Huang is known to hold about 60 direct reports and delegates minimally.