Nvidia Board Weighs Ousting CEO Jensen Huang Amid Espionage Scandal
Nvidia's board is considering removing CEO Jensen Huang after he admitted to affairs with a suspected Chinese spy and a company subordinate.
The board of directors of Nvidia is considering the removal of CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang following revelations of two extramarital affairs and allegations of national security breaches. Huang admitted to a relationship with Alice Huang, a Singapore-based executive and founder of Megaspeed International whom U.S. intelligence identifies as a Chinese operative. Further reports indicate Huang also had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reports directly to him.
U.S. officials allege that Alice Huang used her relationship with the CEO to facilitate the smuggling of approximately $7.5 billion in restricted AI chips into China, bypassing export controls. The Department of Justice has taken over an investigation into Megaspeed regarding these illicit transfers. While President Donald Trump has defended Huang as an "honorable guy," Senate Democrats have accused the administration of a "dereliction of duty," claiming Trump was briefed on the suspected spy over a year ago.
The scandal has triggered a massive market sell-off, erasing hundreds of billions in market value and causing volatility across Asian semiconductor stocks. Nvidia's board has retained the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and former federal prosecutor Joon H. Kim to lead an independent probe. The company is also working with an external search firm to identify potential successors, with CFO Colette Kress mentioned as a possible interim leader.
Congressional leaders are now pushing for stricter AI chip export controls, including the AI Overwatch Act and the MATCH Act, ahead of a scheduled summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen.
