Nvidia’s founder steps down as a Chinese‑linked affair triggers investigations and a $500bn market hit.
The sudden departure of Jensen Huang, co-founder and long-time chief executive of Nvidia, has sent shockwaves through the technology sector. Huang announced his resignation on a Sunday email to staff, acknowledging an extramarital relationship and pledging full cooperation with an internal review.
The disclosure followed a series of reports that linked the affair to a woman believed to have ties to Chinese intelligence services.
Affairs, investigations and board actions
According to multiple insiders, the first relationship involved Alice Huang, a former senior executive at Singapore-based data-center firm Megaspeed.
Although unrelated by family, Alice was suspected of acting as an intelligence asset for Beijing. The board initially regarded the connection as a routine customer meeting, but once the romantic nature of the liaison surfaced, an internal probe was launched.
Two days later, video footage emerged showing Huang embracing Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice-president of health care, at a hotel in San Jose, California during a March conference. A third, still-unidentified Nvidia employee was subsequently cited in reports, deepening the scandal. Within hours of Huang’s resignation, the board named chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive. In an email she wrote, “I believe deeply in this company and in its future,” and thanked employees for their resilience.
Legal scrutiny and shareholder lawsuits
In response to the allegations, Nvidia engaged the New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz on Tuesday, tasking attorney Joon Kim with overseeing a “thorough and independent investigation.” The FBI has also opened its own inquiry. Meanwhile, a class-action suit filed in California accuses both Nvidia and Huang of misleading investors about the national-security ramifications of the affair. Plaintiffs argue that statements minimizing the risk to the company’s proprietary chip technology were materially false, contributing to a market decline of roughly $500 billion (about £375 billion) since the scandal broke.
Share prices slipped 4.3% on the Monday following the board’s announcement, erasing an estimated $190 billion in market value. The lawsuit, led by retail investor Mark Kistenmacher, seeks unspecified damages on behalf of shareholders who felt deceived.
Political fallout and Senate testimony
Republican Senator Tim Scott, chair of the Senate Banking Committee, summoned Huang for a closed-door hearing, emphasizing that recent revelations raise “serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology.” Scott posted the summons on X, adding that the American public deserves answers. Huang, who holds roughly a 3.6% stake in Nvidia, is expected to appear before the committee next week.
Former President Donald Trump publicly defended Huang, asserting that the former CEO was unaware of any espionage involvement. Trump lauded Apple’s former chief executive Tim Cook as a potential replacement, quipping, “A Legend replaces a Legend!” He also speculated that the outcome hinges on whether the woman involved was indeed a spy.
Overall, the episode has highlighted the fragile intersection of cutting-edge artificial intelligence hardware, geopolitical competition, and corporate governance. Nvidia remains the sole supplier of the GPUs that power AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a position that has long made its technology a focal point of U.S. national-security policy.
