Jensen Huang wore his black leather jackets the way other people wear medals. The 63-year-old was mobbed by admirers during trips through Asia, spoke the language of technological progress fluently, and made billions from its promises. Now 11 board members are deliberating his future. The very man whose computer chips power a substantial part of the world's artificial intelligence could be brought down by a relationship with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believe is a Chinese spy. And sitting in the White House is a president who had been warned early on and trusted his friend anyway.
Late Wednesday evening, November 11, the board of American chipmaker Nvidia met to discuss potentially firing Huang. Just days earlier, the board had explicitly reaffirmed its confidence in its longtime CEO. Now two extramarital affairs have come to light. One involved Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a businesswoman with ties to Singapore-based technology company Megaspeed International. The other involved Kimberly Powell, who heads Nvidia's healthcare division and reported to Huang. The second relationship came to light through accounts from five current or former employees. For a man whose position at the company had seemed virtually untouchable for decades, even his own directors have suddenly become a threat.
Huang admitted to the first affair in a message to employees on Sunday. He said he had been unfaithful to his wife, had hurt his family, and took full responsibility. He provided no details about the relationship. Nvidia launched an independent investigation to determine whether its CEO had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The FBI is also investigating the matter. A private affair has become a national security issue, with potential consequences that now threaten the company itself.
Alice Huang had previously worked in television and finance. She joined Megaspeed in 2023, shortly after Joe Biden's administration restricted exports of Nvidia's most powerful chips to China. The following year, the company began purchasing large quantities of those chips. Some were installed in data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia. U.S. authorities investigated whether other shipments may have made their way to China. Suspicions grew that Alice Huang had passed information to Beijing and helped procure advanced American chips. The Chinese government denies the espionage allegations and calls them a smear.
Nvidia initially defended Megaspeed. A company spokesperson said in 2025 that there was no evidence of smuggling. Its compliance department had reviewed the business partner and determined that it was wholly owned by a company based outside China and had no Chinese shareholders. As recently as late October, the same spokesperson described the contacts between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang as ordinary business interactions. Then the CEO admitted his infidelity. How much his employees knew at the time is now among the questions whose answers could carry serious legal consequences.
The situation is becoming particularly uncomfortable for Donald Trump. Huang has been among his closest allies in the American technology industry since at least 2025. He publicly supported the president's policies and became an influential adviser on artificial intelligence. In October 2025, Nvidia donated $25 million toward the renovation of the White House East Wing. Just weeks later, Trump authorized sales of powerful H200 chips to China, easing restrictions imposed by his predecessor. The timing alone doesn't prove there was a quid pro quo. But the political relationship had already grown so close that Huang had direct access to the president. In December 2025, a reporter caught sight of Huang's full name on Trump's phone.
In May 2026, Huang accompanied the president on a state visit to Beijing. Trump had invited him at the last minute, prompting the Nvidia CEO to board Air Force One in Alaska. Before that trip, a highly classified memo had circulated within the U.S. government. Prepared under the supervision of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the document warned senior administration officials about Huang's close relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. Even so, the president took him to China. The question of what Trump knew and why he failed to act now extends far beyond one businessman's private life.
On Sunday, Trump publicly defended Huang as "an honorable guy." On Monday, he described a personal conversation with him. Huang had assured him that he had no idea the woman was a spy. "I really believe him," Trump declared. At the same time, the president confirmed that the FBI was investigating the matter. He was convinced Huang would come through it just fine. The president's trust now stands publicly alongside the warning issued by his own intelligence agencies. The two are difficult to reconcile.
Pressure is mounting in Congress. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons are demanding answers about potential threats to national security. Coons is calling for an investigation into the relationships between Huang, Nvidia, and the Trump administration. Republicans have questions, too. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, together with two other lawmakers, requested a closed-door briefing as early as November 4. Mast is considering issuing a subpoena if Huang refuses to appear voluntarily. Lawmakers consider Nvidia's proposal to send its top corporate attorney instead inadequate.
Democratic Representatives Gabe Amo, Gregory Meeks, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove are demanding answers from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick by December 1. They want to know whether senior officials at his department were aware of intelligence findings concerning Alice Huang. They are also calling for a halt to exports of advanced chips to China. Hakeem Jeffries, regarded as a possible next Speaker of the House, is demanding additional information as well. The affair has now reached an administration whose handling of highly sensitive technology was already controversial.
Jensen Huang with his wife Lori, née Lori Mills. The two have been married since 1985, a total of 41 years. They met around 1980 while studying electrical engineering at Oregon State University. They have two children, Madison and Spencer, both of whom work at Nvidia.
On Wall Street, questions like these are answered in dollars. By Tuesday, Nvidia had already lost more than ten percent of its market value. Huang's personal stake had shed more than $17 billion in value. The roughly 870 million shares held by him and his family trusts were nevertheless still worth about $145 billion. When news of his potential ouster broke, the stock fell another eight percent in after-hours trading Wednesday. Roughly $600 billion in market value was at stake over the course of a single week. That's an extraordinary price for a company whose future is so closely tied to the name of one man.
Huang founded Nvidia in 1993. Today, he owns about 3.6 percent of its shares, directly oversees dozens of employees, and has failed to put an obvious successor in place. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is being discussed as a possible interim replacement. Ian Buck, who heads the company's data center division, is also considered a candidate. The board can remove Huang by a simple majority vote, even without any misconduct. Nvidia is scheduled to release its next earnings report on November 17. The timing could hardly be more delicate for a change in leadership.
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