Affair with suspected Chinese spy exposed in October last year
Huang initially denied romantic ties, then acknowledged them Sunday
Scandal expanded to include alleged AI chip smuggling and two more affairs
FBI probe and congressional investigation expected
Jensen Huang, the former Nvidia CEO who had reigned as the undisputed leader of the global AI industry, was forced out of the company he founded and built over 33 years on Thursday — just four days after acknowledging an affair with Alice Huang (Chinese name: Huang Le), a Chinese national suspected of being a spy for Beijing. The affair scandal has since expanded into allegations that $7.5 billion worth of AI chips banned from export to China were smuggled there through Alice Huang, with FBI and congressional investigations now expected. The number of alleged affairs has grown to at least three, with two additional women — including a senior executive who reported directly to him and another employee — drawn into the widening scandal. Huang had conquered global markets with Nvidia's AI accelerators and built a near-monopolistic ecosystem, but his removal came just as swiftly.
Huang stepped down two weeks after The New York Times reported Oct. 29 that Alice Huang — a senior executive at data center startup Megaspeed, whose Chinese name is Huang Le — had been identified as a Chinese spy. Because the board was already deliberating his removal when he resigned, the departure is widely regarded as an effective dismissal.
Nvidia had initially described the relationship between Huang and Alice Huang as a professional business acquaintance. The Financial Times then reported that US intelligence agencies viewed the two as romantically involved, and as evidence emerged on social media, Huang ultimately acknowledged the affair on Sunday.
At that point, Huang had still signaled his intention to remain as CEO. The board, too, said it found no indication that he posed a risk to national security or the company's industrial security, and expressed continued confidence in him.
That position collapsed, however, as allegations surfaced that $7.5 billion worth of AI chips banned from export to China had been smuggled there through Alice Huang, and as an extramarital relationship with a female executive who reported directly to him came to light — ultimately setting his resignation in motion.
Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at financial research firm Bernstein, titled a research note "Where did he find the time?" and cited the adage that finding two ants in a kitchen does not mean there are only two, suggesting more allegations against Huang would follow. His prediction proved accurate: Reuters reported Thursday on a third alleged affair, this time with another employee at the company.
Huang's scandal has moved well beyond a personal matter, expanding into a national security issue tied to the US-China rivalry over AI supremacy — making an intensive investigation into Huang all but inevitable.
The origins of the case trace back two years. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security detected in 2024 that Megaspeed, a fledgling data center company, was purchasing Nvidia chips in large quantities. Investigators visited subsidiaries of Megaspeed in Malaysia and found stockpiles of brand-new, unopened Nvidia equipment.
Nvidia's AI chips are typically installed in data center servers immediately upon receipt as a safeguard against smuggling, and Nvidia is understood to verify that the chips are mounted in servers. The chips purchased by Megaspeed's subsidiary, by contrast, had been left unused — contrary to standard practice.
The New York Times reported in October last year that Alice Huang, a senior Megaspeed executive, was suspected of smuggling Nvidia chips into China by leveraging her personal ties to Huang. The FBI and the National Security Agency launched electronic surveillance of Alice Huang, and as intelligence emerged that she was romantically involved with Huang and was an agent of Chinese intelligence, the case grew into a major national security scandal. Authorities believe Alice Huang was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security and approached Huang to extract Nvidia's core trade secrets and details of the US administration's China policy.
US intelligence agencies briefed President Donald Trump and the administration on the matter, but Trump is said to have shown little reaction. Even during his visit to China in May, after being briefed again, he made an unscheduled detour to Alaska and flew Huang to China aboard Air Force One.
Alice Huang is reported to have left Singapore for China after Singapore authorities launched an investigation into the Megaspeed allegations and summoned her for questioning. Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that she is currently in Beijing under the watch of Chinese security authorities.
Allegations then emerged that Huang had also carried on an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare and one of roughly 60 executives who reported directly to him. On Thursday, reports surfaced of yet another alleged relationship with a different employee at the company.
As allegations against Huang mounted, attention also turned to Nvidia's decision in October last year to retain Heller, a public relations firm. While Heller handles general corporate communications, its founder, Lisa Heller, is known as a fixer for celebrities facing sexual misconduct allegations and privacy controversies.
Because the contract with Heller was pursued after The New York Times' report in October last year, some observers have suggested that Huang hired the firm to suppress the scandal surrounding Alice Huang.
Huang issued a message in August acknowledging the extramarital relationship, apologizing and pledging to "rebuild trust." Since then, as fresh revelations have emerged daily and the scandal has grown toward his resignation, he has remained silent.
kate01@heraldcorp.com
