Jensen Huang Apologizes To Nvidia Staff Over Extramarital Affair With Chinese Spy

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a suspected Chinese spy, in a letter to staff on Sunday, prompting the company’s board to launch an independent investigation into potential national security breaches.

U.S. intelligence agencies determined that Alice Huang, an executive at a Singapore-based data center company and Nvidia customer, Megaspeed, was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). She allegedly engaged in a "honeypot" operation to influence Jensen Huang, who has advocated for looser AI chip export restrictions to China, and to help restricted Chinese firms acquire advanced Nvidia GPUs.

Megaspeed had reportedly purchased billions of dollars in Nvidia hardware and faced scrutiny regarding potential export control violations and whether advanced chips were being channeled into China.

In a memo titled "A message to our company," Huang stated, "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did." He accepted full responsibility, apologized to his family and colleagues, and expressed his commitment to protecting Nvidia and U.S. national security.

Nvidia’s Board of Directors initiated an independent investigation, assisted by outside counsel, to determine if Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort and if any secrets were compromised. Despite the probe, the board expressed full confidence in his leadership, noting that routine customer interactions do not inherently involve sensitive information.

The State Department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously warned top Trump officials about the relationship, leading to the public disclosure by The New York Times in late October.

The Chinese government dismissed the spying allegations as "groundless speculation" and "smears."

The U.S. House Select Committee on China requested that Huang appear before Congress to answer questions regarding potential security protocols, foreign adversary espionage risks, and U.S. export control compliance.

U.S. markets reacted with a slide in Nvidia’s share price.