Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits affair as US govt probes ties with alleged Chinese spy

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an affair in an email to the company's staff.

This comes after the U.S. government launched a probe into the chipmaker CEO's relationship with one Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, who is allegedly a Chinese spy.

Nvidia's Board of Directors also said it will initiate an independent investigation to look into the espionage allegations.

Megaspeed was previously accused of helping smuggle Nvidia chips to China, which is banned under U.S. export controls.

Nvidia has rejected the allegations. It said the claims that Megaspeed diverted its chips were “thoroughly investigated and debunked” last year, and that its compliance team found Megaspeed to be wholly owned and operated by a company based outside China, with no Chinese shareholders.

Huang has also described Nvidia’s dealings with Megaspeed as normal, telling Bloomberg and Reuters that regional cloud customers receive ordinary commercial information rather than confidential Nvidia technology.

I take full responsibility: Huang

According to CNBC, in his letter to Nvidia staff dated Nov. 8, Huang wrote that he owed his family and Nvidia colleagues 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," the CEO wrote.

He added: "I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it."

To his staff and colleagues, Huang told them he had "fallen short" of the responsibility to serve them and be worthy of their trust.

"I am fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back your confidence," he wrote.

Huang also addressed the national security concerns, saying that he will support and cooperate fully with the Board's independent investigation.

In its statement, Nvidia's Board said that it has no reason to believe that either U.S. national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.

However, it said its inquiry will examine "all available information".

It added that it has confidence in Huang and his leadership team.

Background

Huang is married to Lori Mills, his college sweetheart and lab partner.

They have two children together.

Questions about Huang's close relationship with Alice first surfaced in a New York Times report in late October 2026.

They share the same surname, but are unrelated to each other.

The pair were first seen together in June 2024 at a bar with other tech executives following a trade show in Taipei.

A year later, in May, the two were seen leaving a Taipei restaurant after a business dinner with other AI suppliers.

Nvidia previously told NYT that its CEO's interactions with Alice are "not unusual or unexpected", given that Megaspeed was Nvidia's regional customer.

NYT also reported that U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed about suspicions regarding Alice as well as her relationship with Huang a year ago.

U.S. government officials have said they will look into the allegations and have asked Huang to appear before various government committees.