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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits to having an affair with suspected Chinese spy
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an affair with a woman who is allegedly a Chinese spy. The apology came in a letter to Nvidia staff, which we have added further below. Nvidia released a statement from the company's board of directors late on Sunday to address the report that U.S. intelligence believes Jensen Huang had an affair with a Chinese spy. While Nvidia's board says it has no reason to believe that sensitive corporate information or U.S. national security was compromised, the company intends to examine all available information to determine what happened. The BoD claims that it is fully confident in Jensen Huang and his leadership team. Huang says he fully supports the investigation.
"A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation," a statement by Nvidia's BoD reads. "The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of Nvidia and its shareholders. […] Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it."
A recent report claimed that the U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed who was allegedly recruited by China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) to gather information and help Chinese companies obtain restricted AI GPUs. Megaspeed has been on the radar for smuggling restricted hardware for China since at least 2025: Megaspeed has been accused of smuggling $2 billion worth of AI chips into China via its subsidiary Speedmatrix.
Nvidia has strenuously rejected suggestions of improper dealings, saying that its CEO regularly meets thousands of customers and that these interactions do not involve sensitive corporate information or national security secrets. Chinese officials have also dismissed the espionage allegations as unfounded.
The suspected Chinese intelligence operation targeting Jensen has not been independently confirmed as a fact. The relationship is alleged to follow the typical "honeypot" strategy, wherein foreign intelligence agencies use operatives to ensnare targets into romantic relationships to steal information and influence their decision-making.
"I owe my family and all of you an apology," Huang wrote in his X post. "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. Throughout my life, my family has given me love and support. They deserve my honesty and loyalty. Instead, I let them down and damaged the life we built together. I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it. To my wife and family: I love you. I know an apology cannot undo what I have done. I hope our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust."
In June 2018, Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich resigned after an internal investigation, assisted by external legal counsel, confirmed that he had engaged in a consensual romantic relationship with an Intel employee, which violated the company's non-fraternization policy applicable to all managers. Krzanich, who had led Intel since 2013, also stepped down from the company's board, while then-chief financial officer Robert Swan took over as interim CEO. For now, it remains unclear if Jensen will meet a similar fate and lose control of the company he founded.
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Jensen's full letter to staff reads as follows:To my colleagues at NVIDIA, 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.