Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang has resigned after the tech boss was accused of cheating on his wife with an alleged Chinese spy and employee.
Nvidia's board met before the tech titan resigned. The New York Times reported the tech CEO previously had another extramarital relationship with Nvidia's vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell.
Details of the alleged affairs
Huang, 63, and Powell, 48, were allegedly seen being affectionate on video at a hotel in March during an Nvidia conference. Five people who work at Nvidia said Huang was in a relationship with Powell.
On Sunday, Huang came clean in a memo to staff, confessing to an affair with Chinese entrepreneur and Megaspeed founder Alice Huang. She had been under investigation for allegedly feeding information to Beijing.
Statement and apology
Following the revelation of Huang's affair, the tech boss released a statement publicly apologising for his behaviour. In an email sent to Nvidia employees and a company press release, Huang stated: “I owe my family and all of you an apology.”
The tech boss added: “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.”
“Throughout my life, my family has given me love and support. They deserve my honesty and loyalty. Instead, I let them down and damaged the life we built together. I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it.”
National security concerns
Huang also addressed the serious concerns he had sparked concerning national security. “Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, NVIDIA’s Board of Directors has initiated an independent investigation.”
“I support the investigation and will cooperate fully. I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security. I am proud and grateful to be an American.”
It remains unclear when the relationship began, though reports reveal how Ms Huang was boasting about their closeness as far back as June 2024. In early 2025, she pitched an AI chips deal to Chinese-based investors, flaunting her ability to secure Nvidia's graphics processing units and her commercial ties with Alibaba, reports the Express.
Investigation and market impact
She had sought their backing for a southeast Asia data centre project worth several hundred million dollars, while keeping her relationship with Mr Huang firmly under wraps. At the time, US officials were briefed that Ms Huang was working on behalf of Beijing's Ministry of State Security to gather intelligence on American-made AI chips and potentially pressure Nvidia into making its most advanced semiconductors available in China, according to The New York Times.
US officials have stated that the Megaspeed founder has connections with executives at the very top of the AI chip industry. Separately, Washington had been investigating Megaspeed amid concerns it may have played a role in smuggling hardware to China — prompting the government to request that Nvidia audit the firm last year.
In its initial findings, the chipmaker reported that all hardware was fully accounted for, however records obtained by Bloomberg News revealed that Megaspeed had imported 50,000 more chips than Nvidia had located across its data centres. Nvidia subsequently pledged in December 2025 to conduct a further visit to Megaspeed's data centres. It remains unclear whether this took place.
