Key takeaways
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an email to staff on November 8 that he had an affair with Alice Huang, a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly suspect of passing information to Beijing.
- Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation into allegations that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, and says it has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.
- Three House Republican committee chairs have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18, citing national security concerns about China’s access to sensitive United States technology.
Nvidia said on Sunday, November 8, that its board of directors had opened an independent investigation. In an email to staff, chief executive Jensen Huang said he had an affair with a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly suspect of passing information to Beijing. Huang wrote: "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did." He added: "I am deeply sorry."
The allegations come as Nvidia has become the centre of a trade dispute between China and the United States, where AI is increasingly seen as critical to national security. The U.S. restricts exports of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China, though it has approved exports of certain older, slower models.
Who Is Alice Huang
Alice Huang is an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company and Nvidia customer. According to The New York Times, U.S. intelligence found that she is a Chinese citizen who had developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang and was funnelling information to Beijing. The Financial Times also reported that U.S. intelligence agencies had concerns about her passing information to Beijing, according to CNBC. The Wall Street Journal reported that Singaporean authorities opened their own probe into Megaspeed and reportedly questioned Alice Huang, and that Taiwan’s authorities are probing her involvement with China.
Megaspeed has separately been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies acquire Nvidia AI chips. Nvidia told CNBC that its regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information and zero information relevant to national security, and that meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job. The board said it has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.
What We Know So Far
Jensen Huang said in an email to staff on November 8, 2026 that he had an affair. The Nvidia board opened an independent investigation and said it has no reason to believe national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised. Three House Republican committee chairs asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18. According to CNBC, Nvidia did not directly respond on whether he would attend.
Congress Calls for a Briefing
Three House Republican committee chairs wrote to Jensen Huang on November 4 and made the letter public on November 5. The request came from Brian Mast of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, John Moolenaar of the Select Committee on China, and Rick Crawford of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The chairs asked Huang to attend an in-person, closed-door joint briefing on November 18, the day after Nvidia’s scheduled third-quarter earnings report on November 17. The letter said it was "vital that Congress determines the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk," and asked for information on Nvidia’s security protocols against foreign adversary espionage.
The New York Times reported that President Trump was briefed about a year ago on those intelligence findings and chose not to act on it.
I was unfaithful to my wife.
What Nvidia Says and What Comes Next
An Nvidia spokesperson said Huang was committed to continuing as chief executive without interruption. The board said it would investigate the allegations that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. Nvidia did not directly respond to CNBC’s request to comment on the letter or to confirm whether Huang would attend the proposed November 18 briefing.
Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips are subject to U.S. export restrictions on China, and the company is due to report its third-quarter earnings on November 17, the day before the requested congressional briefing. Nvidia is also scheduled to hold a major conference in Washington, D.C., at the end of November.
