Nvidia Board Opens Investigation After Jensen Huang Admits Affair With Alleged Chinese Spy

Quick Facts

• A U.S. intelligence memo alleges China's Ministry of State Security recruited Megaspeed executive Alice Huang to gather information on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
• Jensen Huang admitted in a memo to staff that he had an extramarital affair, and separately confirmed to Nvidia's board that the relationship was with Alice Huang.
• Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation but said it has "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised."

Nvidia's board of directors announced Sunday it is opening an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang after a U.S. intelligence memo alleged that Alice Huang, a top executive at Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed, was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security to spy on the chip giant's chief executive.

Jensen Huang sent a memo to Nvidia staff admitting he had an extramarital affair. "I owe my family and all of you an apology. 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," Huang wrote. He separately admitted to Nvidia's board that the relationship was with Alice Huang, though his public memo did not name her or address the espionage allegations directly.

Huang had previously told Bloomberg News that his interactions with Alice Huang were "related to Megaspeed, and it was all completely normal and not unusual."

The Intelligence Memo

Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the creation of the memo, which was circulated to Trump administration policymakers last spring, shortly before President Donald Trump traveled to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. When Trump was first briefed in 2025, U.S. officials did not believe Jensen Huang knew Alice Huang was gathering information for China.

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was previously a television reporter in China before joining Megaspeed. U.S. agencies watched her for about a year after she was photographed at dinners with Jensen Huang in Singapore. The memo alleged she was recruited to seek information and potentially push for Nvidia's advanced chips to be made available in China, countering existing export restrictions.

Megaspeed's Role

Megaspeed International, once a small unit of a Chinese gaming company, has grown into Nvidia's largest customer in Southeast Asia. U.S. intelligence investigations found that Megaspeed established data centers across Southeast Asia and rented computing capacity to Alibaba.

Megaspeed's Malaysian subsidiary, Speedmatrix Sdn Bhd, reportedly purchased close to $2 billion in Nvidia chips restricted from direct export to China, receiving more than 200 shipments between June 2024 and early 2026. A sister company purchased at least $4.8 billion worth of advanced AI equipment containing Nvidia technology during the same period. Singapore charged three men in 2025 with fraud in a case involving servers that may have contained Nvidia chips bound for China.

Board Response and Congressional Pressure

A committee of independent Nvidia directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation. The board said Huang "fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it" and that it retains "confidence in Jensen and his leadership team." Huang will remain CEO during the inquiry.

Lawmakers from both parties are calling for congressional investigations. On November 4, three Republican House committee chairs asked Huang for a private briefing on his dealings with Alice Huang and Nvidia's safeguards against foreign espionage. They requested Huang appear in a closed-door joint briefing on November 18.

President Trump praised Huang as an "honorable" person and credited his "amazing" contributions to the U.S., while saying he had not spoken with Huang about the matter. Rubio declined to comment, calling it an "internal corporate matter."

Market and Leadership Risk

Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville and Ives Co., called the news "a black eye moment for Jensen" that will increase scrutiny of chip sales to China, a policy Huang has previously lobbied to loosen. Ives added that the investigation will cast a shadow over Nvidia's share price, as investors weigh whether Huang will remain at the helm of the company he helped found. "There is clearly risk that Jensen could be removed as CEO depending on the Board investigation," Ives wrote, noting how central Huang is to Nvidia's identity and valuation.