Nvidia co-founder and now former CEO Jensen Huang has by no means been as flashy or controversy-prone as AI leaders like OpenAI’s Sam Altman or SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk. Now, the 63-year-old business kingpin has admitted that he cheated on his spouse of 40 years in affairs that would have ramifications past Huang’s private life and U.S. nationwide safety.

U.S. officers imagine that considered one of Huang’s seemingly romantic pursuits, Megaspeed govt Alice Huang, is a Chinese language spy who has been feeding data again to Beijing. (Alice Huang, a Chinese language citizen, is of no relation to Jensen Huang.)

Megaspeed is a Singapore-based AI infrastructure firm that reportedly bought $4.8 billion in Nvidia chips during the last two years. The U.S. and Singapore have each beforehand investigated Megaspeed over suspicions that the agency was illegally sharing chips with China. The Justice Division has since taken over the federal investigation into the corporate, The New York Occasions has reported.

The story took a sudden new activate Wednesday. Citing 5 individuals who labored at Nvidia, the Occasions reported that Huang additionally had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, the corporate’s vice chairman of healthcare, who studies on to him. Nvidia, Huang, and Powell haven’t confirmed the report. Reached by a Occasions reporter, Huang reportedly stated, “I don’t suppose try to be speaking to me straight,” earlier than hanging up.

By early Thursday morning, Huang was now not CEO of the corporate he co-founded 33 years in the past. Then, Thursday afternoon, Reuters dropped one other bombshell, publishing a report alleging that Huang had yet one more extramarital affair with one other unnamed Nvidia worker.

The U.S. and China are embroiled in a fierce technological arms race to construct essentially the most superior AI infrastructure, which might form every nation’s financial future, navy prowess, and capability for innovation. Nvidia is efficacious on this competitors as one of many world’s largest makers of AI chips, that are important for accelerating AI improvement. However as an American firm, Nvidia faces authorities restrictions on the sale of its strongest chips to Chinese language entities.

Because the controversy unfolds, we’re organizing essentially the most related occasions right into a reverse-chronological timeline to maintain you updated.

November 12, 2026: Huang was having a 3rd affair with one other Nvidia worker, in accordance with Reuters

After Huang was already ousted from Nvidia, we continued to study extra incriminating claims in regards to the former CEO. In keeping with Reuters, Huang had a 3rd affair with a further unnamed worker of Nvidia.

November 12, 2026: Jensen Huang resigns, CFO Colette Kress named as interim CEO; Huang agrees to testify earlier than Congress

Nvidia confirmed in an SEC submitting on Thursday that the board accepted Huang’s resignation on Wednesday. The corporate’s present CFO, Colette Kress, will take over as interim CEO whereas nonetheless fulfilling her CFO duties. Nvidia is anticipated to conduct a bigger search to find out a everlasting successor to Huang.

Harvey C. Jones, a managing companion of Sq. Wave Ventures and former CEO of Synopsys, was appointed as the corporate’s first-ever chair of the board of administrators. Jones has been on Nvidia’s board since 1993.

Later within the day, Huang confirmed that he would testify in Congress in some unspecified time in the future earlier than Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26.

“Jensen and I’ve been very at odds as a few of you already know on export controls, however Nvidia is a vital firm to the US of America,” Home International Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast stated to reporters. “I don’t wish to see something harm in Nvidia, however he has some very severe inquiries to reply.”

The testimony is anticipated to happen behind closed doorways, however Mast believes the briefing will probably be recorded and transcribed.

November 11, 2026: Nvidia’s inventory drops as board reportedly preps to oust CEO Jensen Huang

November 11, 2026: Huang additionally had an affair with an Nvidia govt who studies to him, NYT says

The New York Occasions reported that Jensen Huang additionally had an affair with Nvidia vice chairman of healthcare Kimberly Powell, who studies on to the CEO.

In keeping with the report, Huang and Powell have been captured on movie “being affectionate” at a resort throughout a convention earlier this yr.

November 11, 2026: Congress plans to subpoena Huang to reply questions on affair

Huang has not responded to a request from three Republican congressman to seem for a closed-door briefing for questioning about his affair with an alleged Chinese language spy. Home China committee Chairman Moolenaar stated Wednesday on Fox Enterprise that if Huang doesn’t conform to the briefing, he’ll seemingly be subpoenaed.

November 9, 2026: Huang pulls out of assorted talking engagements

The Nvidia CEO pulled out of upcoming talking engagements on the ElevenLabs Summit and Anthropic CEO Discussion board.

November 9-10, 2026: Particulars emerge in regards to the enterprise relationships between Nvidia and the alleged spy

Alice Huang and her household reportedly constructed a community of firms in China and Singapore to accumulate Nvidia chips, together with founding a Chinese language firm referred to as Shanghai Century Litong. Based in 2023, it grew to become an Nvidia-preferred cloud companion, giving it precedence entry to chips, The Data reported. The Data additionally reported that Shanghai Century Litong facilitated shopping for $7.5 billion value of Nvidia’s chips, together with banned chips.

Nvidia’s head lawyer, Tim Teter, intervened in a 2025 U.S. authorities probe surrounding the suspected smuggling of AI chips by Megaspeed Worldwide, Bloomberg reported. Teter contacted Commerce Underneath Secretary Jeffrey Kessler asking questions on whether or not the Trump administration performed a task in detaining Alice Huang.

In early 2025, Alice Huang and a enterprise companion sought China-based traders for an Asian information middle, promising that they had no drawback in securing GPUs, the Monetary Occasions reported.  

November 8, 2026: Trump exhibits assist for Nvidia CEO, calls him a “high quality individual”

On Sunday night time, President Trump weighed in on Huang’s controversy and confirmed assist for the Nvidia CEO.

“I’ve not spoken to him about it. I simply know he’s a high quality individual, however you by no means know what’s occurring,” Trump stated.

When requested if Huang ought to stay chief of Nvidia, Trump stated, “I feel so. Oh yeah, positive.”

November 8, 2026: Huang admits to affair in public message to Nvidia staff; Nvidia board of administrators begins investigation

Jensen Huang wrote in a letter to Nvidia staff — which was additionally printed as a press launch — that he cheated on his spouse.

“I owe my household and all of you an apology,” Huang instructed his firm. “I used to be untrue to my spouse. My actions harm her and our kids. There isn’t a excuse for what I did. I’m deeply sorry.”

Huang didn’t point out Alice Huang by title within the message, however linked his infidelity to “the nationwide safety issues raised in information studies.”

“Nvidia’s Board of Administrators has initiated an unbiased investigation. I assist the investigation and can cooperate absolutely. I like our nation and our firm. I’m dedicated to defending Nvidia and supporting America’s nationwide safety. I’m proud and grateful to be an American,” Huang wrote.

Nvidia shares slid over 5% the next day.

November 5, 2026: Three Republican committee chairmen ask Huang for closed-door briefing

Three Republican congressmen — Chairman John Moolenaar of the Home Choose Committee on China, Chairman Brian Mast of the Home International Affairs Committee, and Chairman Rick Crawford of the Home Everlasting Choose Committee on Intelligence — despatched a request to Huang for a closed-door joint briefing with their three committees.

“Latest studies increase important nationwide safety issues relating to the [People’s Republic of China]’s entry to delicate U.S. know-how and data,” the chairmen wrote. “The problem of PRC infiltration and entry to cutting-edge U.S. know-how is core to the investigative work of our three committees this Congress. It’s vital that Congress determines the extent to which U.S. nationwide safety has been positioned in danger.”

October 29, 2026: Jensen Huang publicly revealed to have developed ‘shut relationship’ with suspected Chinese language spy

U.S. officers had been investigating Alice Huang and Megaspeed for greater than a yr when the New York Occasions broke the story in late October that the 2 executives additionally had a detailed relationship.

An Nvidia spokesperson denied that this relationship was one thing out of the extraordinary.

“Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang aren’t uncommon or surprising. Conferences with prospects are a part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with hundreds of buyer executives yearly,” Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo stated. He added that “if the U.S. authorities believes that any individual is a menace to American business, it will tell us.”

Spring 2026: A secret memo circulates within the Trump administration about Nvidia CEO’s alleged relationship with Chinese language spy

U.S. officers circulated a secret memo amongst policymakers that warned that Megaspeed’s Alice Huang, who had a relationship with Jensen Huang, was a spy for China’s Ministry of State Safety. This memo was not public data till it was later reported by the New York Occasions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio supervised the drafting of the memo.

Late 2025: President Trump briefed on U.S. surveillance of Alice Huang and her relationship to Nvidia CEO however doesn’t take motion

Across the identical time, per the New York Occasions’ report, U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed about intelligence findings that attainable Chinese language spy Alice Huang had fashioned a detailed relationship with Jensen Huang. Trump didn’t act on this data.

The Nvidia CEO, an ally of Trump, has repeatedly advocated for the U.S. authorities to let Nvidia develop its enterprise in China.

October 2025: U.S. and Singapore every examine Megaspeed over attainable Chinese language export violations

Megaspeed was confirmed to be beneath investigation by each the U.S. and Singaporean governments in October 2025. As a buyer of Nvidia, Megaspeed was suspected of serving to Chinese language firms get round American embargoes on chip exports.

Megaspeed, a neocloud that used Nvidia chips, had been renting computing energy to Chinese language web large Alibaba and different Chinese language firms, the Occasions reported. A Commerce Division official who had visited Megaspeed’s information middle in Malaysia in 2024 had discovered a hoard of Nvidia tools that was nonetheless packed in containers and the priority was that this tools was being straight shipped elsewhere, like China, somewhat than put in and offered as a cloud service.

Jensen Huang had been noticed socializing with Megaspeed govt Alice Huang as early as 2024 in Taiwan, the place the Nvidia CEO was born.

These investigations into Megaspeed highlighted issues in regards to the diploma to which Nvidia is ready to observe its chip exports. On the time, an Nvidia spokesperson instructed press that the corporate didn’t have “any cause to imagine merchandise had been diverted.”

“NVIDIA visited a number of Megaspeed websites but once more earlier this week and confirmed what we beforehand noticed — Megaspeed is operating a small business cloud, like many different firms all through the world, as allowed by U.S. export management guidelines,” the Nvidia spokesperson stated on the time.