Asian governments and officials are responding to the departure of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang amid an independent board investigation into allegations of a Chinese spy operation. The investigation follows Huang's admission to an affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. While Nvidia's board launched the probe on November 8, the company's leadership change has triggered various regulatory and economic reactions across the continent.
In China, the foreign ministry rejected allegations on November 10 that a businesswoman linked to Huang was a spy, calling the claims "groundless and a smear against Beijing." The ministry also stated it was unaware of reports linking restricted Nvidia chips to a Shanghai data center associated with Alice Huang. The leadership transition has created uncertainty regarding more than $3 billion in Chinese AI computing projects that rely on Nvidia processors currently subject to U.S. export controls.
Singaporean authorities have been investigating Alice Huang regarding possible false declarations involving server purchases. The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that police seized her passport in June 2025 to ensure her availability for questioning, though her passport was returned in February 2026 after police found insufficient evidence of criminal offenses. While authorities noted she had knowingly provided inaccurate information about her role at Megaspeed and was subsequently barred from re-entering Singapore, the ministry said its investigation into Megaspeed and six other individuals remains ongoing.
South Korean officials are assessing the impact of the exit on the domestic AI industry. The Science Ministry reported that Nvidia reaffirmed its plan to supply 260,000 advanced GPUs to South Korea and will continue joint AI projects. Following the news, the government's AI strategy council held an emergency meeting on Friday to evaluate potential industry disruptions.
In Taiwan, Economy Minister Kung Ming-shin stated that the departure is unlikely to significantly change the growth of the global AI industry. The Taipei city government added that Nvidia's planned overseas headquarters in the city remains on track and that the company has met all contractual obligations to date.
Japan's Industry Ministry said it would closely monitor Nvidia, describing the chipmaker as an important player in the nation's AI semiconductor industry. Deputy chief cabinet secretary Masanao Ozaki noted it is too early to assess the global impact but emphasized Japan's commitment to ensuring a stable supply chain.
