Who is Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO facing probe over affair with alleged spy

Jensen Huang, longtime CEO of the AI chip giant Nvidia, is facing an investigation from the company’s board after disclosing he had a romantic relationship with a woman that U.S. officials have accused of spying for China.

Nvidia’s board of directors announced Sunday it is opening a probe into reports that Huang had been “the target of a foreign intelligence effort.”

Huang, who helped found Nvidia in the 1990s, has overseen the firm’s meteoric rise from a relatively obscure chipmaker for video games to one of the biggest companies in the world.

Nvidia’s chips are highly sought after in the tech world, powering the breakneck development of AI. With this level of demand, the company rapidly grew from a market capitalization of less than $1 trillion in early 2023 to the first to cross $5 trillion in late 2025.

As the chipmaker emerged as a major player in the AI space, Huang has become a key ally to President Trump, frequently making visits to Washington.

He joined the president at a Chinese state dinner in September, where he sat at the same table as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In October, Huang also received the National Medal of Science from Trump, alongside several other tech executives.

The Nvidia chief has advocated for fewer restrictions on chips sales to China, arguing it is crucial to keep Beijing dependent on American-made infrastructure.

But his close ties to the president became a source of concern after U.S. officials found that Huang had a “close relationship” with Alice Huang, an executive at the Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed who they concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset, The New York Times reported late last month.

While Nvidia initially dismissed the allegations, its CEO appeared to acknowledge his relationship with the Megaspeed executive in a recent message to employees.

“I owe my family and all of you an apology,” Nvidia’s Huang wrote. “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.”

“I support the investigation and will cooperate fully,” he added of the board’s probe. “I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security.”

The investigation, which is being overseen by a committee of independent directors, will prioritize U.S. national and economic security, although the board said it “has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.”

The company’s stock took a hit Monday morning, opening down 7.3 percent from Friday’s closing bell. It marked the lowest point for the chipmaker’s shares since late March.

“Today’s news will not slow NVIDIA,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption.”