Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang has never been as flashy or controversy-prone as AI leaders like OpenAI’s Sam Altman or SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk. Now, the 63-year-old industry kingpin has admitted that he cheated on his wife of 40 years in an affair that could have ramifications beyond Huang’s personal life and potentially impact national security.
United States officials believe that Huang’s likely romantic interest, Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, is a Chinese spy who has been feeding information back to Beijing. (Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen, is of no relation to Jensen Huang.)
Megaspeed, a Singapore-based AI infrastructure company, had reportedly purchased $4.8 billion in Nvidia chips over the last two years. The U.S. and Singapore have both previously investigated Megaspeed over suspicions that the firm was illegally sharing chips with China. The Justice Department has since taken over the federal investigation into the company, the Times has reported.
The story took a sudden new turn on Wednesday. Citing five people who worked at Nvidia, the Times reported that Huang also had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of health care, who reports directly to him. Nvidia, Huang and Powell have not confirmed the report. Reached by a Times reporter, Huang reportedly said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” before hanging up.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s board is preparing to oust Huang, and Nvidia’s shares fell in after-hours trading.
The U.S. and China are embroiled in a fierce technological arms race to build the most advanced AI infrastructure, which could shape each country’s economic future, military prowess, and capacity for innovation. Nvidia is valuable in this competition as one of the world’s largest makers of AI chips, which are essential for accelerating AI development. But as an American company, Nvidia faces government restrictions on the sale of its most powerful chips to Chinese entities.
As the controversy unfolds, we are organizing the most relevant events into a reverse-chronological timeline to keep you up to date.
November 11, 2026: Nvidia’s stock drops as board reportedly preps to oust CEO Jensen Huang
After reports of a second extramarital affair, Nvidia’s board reportedly plans to meet to discuss Huang’s future at the company, per the Wall Street Journal. Stock fell about 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday and is down 11% in the past five days.
Huang famously delegates very little and has about 60 direct reports, he has said. The company has not had an obvious successor or a succession plan.
November 11, 2026: Huang also had an affair with an Nvidia executive who reports to him, NYT says
The New York Times reported that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, who reports directly to him. The report, citing five people who worked at Nvidia, adds a new dimension to the scandal. Nvidia, Huang and Powell have not confirmed the report. Reached by a Times reporter, Huang reportedly said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” before hanging up.
via TechCrunch AI