Jensen Huang scandal: from spy reports to an Nvidia board investigation

Nvidia’s board stepped into the Jensen Huang scandal on Sunday and opened an independent investigation after reports that its CEO “has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” and Huang told staff the same day: “I was unfaithful to my wife.” Nvidia shares fell nearly 5% before Monday’s US open.

What is confirmed and what is alleged

Huang’s memo names no one. The link to Alice Huang, a former executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed who is not related to him, comes from The New York Times and the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources. The Times reported that US intelligence considers her an asset of China’s Ministry of State Security. The US government has not confirmed that on the record.

She did not respond to the Times, and Beijing denies the claim. No report we read mentions charges against either of them. The board says it has “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.”

Megaspeed says on its website that inspections by the US Bureau of Industry and Security, Malaysian authorities and Nvidia found “no evidence of any violations.” It did not answer Reuters on Monday, a public holiday in Singapore.

Timeline of the Nvidia investigation

• October 2025: Sen. Tom Cotton asks Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate Megaspeed over export rules.
• About a year ago: Trump receives a briefing on the intelligence and takes no action, the Times reported.
• December 2025: Bloomberg reports a US probe into Megaspeed’s ownership and possible smuggling of Nvidia chips to China.
• Spring 2026: a memo reaches policymakers identifying her as recruited by Chinese intelligence, the Times reported, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw it.
• 29 October: the Times publishes its investigation and reports that Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips in two years. Huang tells Bloomberg his dealings with her were “completely normal and not unusual.”
• 5 November: House chairs Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford publish a letter asking Huang for a closed-door briefing.
• 6 November: the FT reports that the US government believed the two had a romantic relationship. Nvidia declines to comment.
• 8 November: the memo and the board’s probe come out. Trump calls Huang “an honorable guy.” Rubio says he cannot comment.
• 9 November: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun calls the allegation “unsubstantiated.” Shares slide before the open.

What has changed so far

• Shares: $177.30 against Friday’s $186.64 close, about $200 billion to $250 billion of value by Yahoo and Reuters estimates. They had already lost 13% since the first reports, partly in Thursday’s crash.
• Congress: Sen. Chris Coons writes, “Congress will investigate and get answers.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Huang and the board “owe Congress answers.” Rep. Seth Magaziner wants Lutnick to testify too.
• Operations: his daughter, Nvidia executive Madison Huang, canceled a Seoul visit. Startup Rebellions cited “unavoidable internal circumstances at Nvidia.”

Can Huang keep his job

Huang holds about 3.6% of Nvidia, which had a market cap of nearly $4.5 trillion on Friday, and the company has no dual-class shares, Reuters notes. That leaves his job with the board and its investors. Nvidia says he will keep leading the company “without interruption.”

Analysts split on what happens next. Gary Black of The Future Fund wrote, “I doubt Jensen Huang will be able to remain as $NVDA CEO.” Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives expects him to stay in the near term and called the episode a “black eye moment.” Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon flagged key-man risk, and Citi listed export-control compliance for H200 flows into China among investor concerns.

Dates to watch

If you hold Nvidia, watch three dates:

• 17 November: third-quarter results;
• 18 November: the requested briefing, and Nvidia declined to say whether Huang will attend;
• end of November: Nvidia’s conference in Washington.

Nvidia has not said when the committee will finish. Until then, you have allegations from unnamed sources and one admission of an affair.

Based on CNBC, Reuters, NBC News, CBS News and Yahoo Finance, checked on 9 November 2026. We cite The New York Times and FT through those outlets. Share figures predate the US open. This is not investment advice.