Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing investigation following reports of an affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at the company's customer Megaspeed. A Financial Times report stated that U.S. intelligence officials believe Alice Huang was recruited by Chinese intelligence to gather information on the CEO and influence efforts to loosen chip export restrictions. Huang admitted to the affair in a memo to the company on Sunday and issued an apology.
The controversy arrives as Nvidia navigates strict U.S. export controls that have reduced China's share of the company's business. While China accounted for $7.9 billion in revenue for the three months ended July 26, that figure represents roughly 8% of Nvidia's total revenue. Huang has frequently lobbied the U.S. government to expand access to the Chinese market, meeting with President Donald Trump and administration officials last year. Following those meetings, the government reversed restrictions on Nvidia’s H20 chips and permitted exports of H200 processors.
Huang has publicly criticized export controls, describing them as a "failure" at a conference last year and stating in May that it was "not wise" for the U.S. and China to create two distinct AI ecosystems. He has also warned that excluding Nvidia from China's compute market would encourage the country to develop domestic chips to challenge Nvidia's international position. This shift is already underway, as Reuters reported that approximately 600,000 H200 chips are currently held in Hong Kong awaiting shipment to mainland China.
Nvidia's independent directors are currently investigating the matter alongside outside legal counsel. The situation has drawn interest from Congress and reportedly prompted Secretary of State Marco Rubio to warn officials close to Trump earlier this year regarding the relationship. The investigation seeks to determine if the relationship compromised sensitive technology or influenced corporate policy regarding unauthorized customers. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment.
