“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.” That’s how Jensen Huang, the man running the most valuable chip company on the planet, opened a message to Nvidia staff on Sunday. As UNILAD Tech reported, the email has since drawn reactions from Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a big name in Silicon Valley venture capital.
A CEO’s affair would normally be a tabloid story. This one isn’t, because of who the other person allegedly is. According to The New York Times and the Financial Times, US intelligence agencies believe the woman is a Chinese intelligence asset who spent years in Nvidia’s orbit. Nvidia’s board has now opened an independent investigation, and the stock is taking the hit.
The short version
- Huang, 63, admitted the affair in a staff email on Sunday, November 8, and apologized to his wife and family.
- The woman, Alice Huang (no relation), was a senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore cloud company and one of Nvidia’s biggest customers in Southeast Asia.
- US officials reportedly concluded last year that she was targeting Jensen Huang for China’s Ministry of State Security. None of this has been proven in public, and no one has been charged.
- Nvidia’s board says it has “no reason to believe” national security or company secrets were compromised, but it’s investigating.
- Shares fell about 5% in premarket trading Monday. China’s Foreign Ministry calls the spy story “unsubstantiated.”
What Huang actually said
The email was short and unusually personal for a Fortune 500 boss. Beyond the apology to his family, Huang wrote that he had “fallen short” of his responsibility to employees, the board, partners and shareholders. “Leading Nvidia is the privilege of my life,” he wrote. “I am fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back your confidence.”
He also addressed the part of the story that matters to Washington. “Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, Nvidia’s Board of Directors has initiated an independent investigation. I support the investigation and will cooperate fully,” he said, adding that he is “proud and grateful to be an American.”
The board’s own statement was careful. “While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information,” it said. A company spokesperson said Huang plans to keep running Nvidia “without interruption.”
Who is Alice Huang?
Public details are thin, and some of what’s circulating hasn’t been verified. Here is what major outlets have reported so far.
| Detail | What’s been reported |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Huang Le (AFP) |
| Employer | Senior executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore data center and AI cloud firm |
| Background | Former TV reporter in China. An unverified online profile lists HSBC, CCTV and Hunan TV. |
| Alleged role | US intelligence reportedly believes she was an asset of China’s Ministry of State Security |
| Alleged goal | Gather information and push for advanced Nvidia chips to reach China (New York Times) |
| Status | No charges. China denies it. Megaspeed has denied earlier smuggling claims. |
The Times described her as fluent in English and well connected among senior people in the global AI chip business. Photos and livestream footage from industry events in 2024 and 2025 appear to show the two together. According to the Times and The Wall Street Journal, US officials concluded last year that she was targeting the Nvidia chief.
Why Megaspeed is the real story
The affair is what made headlines, but Megaspeed is why national security officials care. The company describes itself as “a core business partner of Nvidia’s computing power cloud business in the Asia-Pacific region.” It rents out AI computing power from offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and it was previously called 7Road International, which suggests links to the Chinese gaming company 7Road.
It has also been a very large customer. The Times reports Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years. Washington has reportedly been investigating it since 2024 over possible efforts to funnel those chips into China, where the US bans sales of Nvidia’s most advanced AI processors. Singapore police have confirmed an active investigation into “suspected breaches of our domestic laws,” and the US Commerce Department is looking at whether export controls were sidestepped.
Megaspeed rejected Bloomberg’s reporting on the smuggling allegations in December 2025, calling it “misleading information and incorrect insinuations.” Nvidia has said Megaspeed was already investigated over export control evasion.
What it’s doing to Nvidia’s stock
Nvidia shares closed Friday at $186.64 and were trading around $177.80 before the bell on Monday, a drop of roughly 5%. That’s on top of a rough couple of weeks. Through Friday the stock had already lost about 13% since the first reports about the relationship, and tech stocks were hammered after the midterms as investors rethought the data center boom. We broke down that post-election Nvidia selloff last week.
Wall Street isn’t in full panic. Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives & Co. called the situation a “game changer” and a “black eye moment” for Huang, but said any talk of replacing him is “comedy.” His view is that Nvidia is still two to three years ahead of China in AI chips. The real worry, he told CNBC, is uncertainty: “The Street would say probably likely [he stays], but given the board investigation, anything could happen.”
Joachim Klement of Panmure Liberum said the damage is contained to Nvidia for now. If Huang’s position were truly in danger, though, Nvidia might pull back on supporting partners in Asia and the US, and that could spread to other chip stocks.
Trump, Musk and Silicon Valley close ranks
The reaction from the top has been striking. Trump called Huang “an honorable guy” on Sunday. “I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it,” he told reporters. Asked whether he’d still bring Huang on an upcoming trip to Asia, he said: “I don’t know, but I’d certainly take him.” Asked whether Huang should stay as CEO: “I think so… oh yeah, sure.” He also admitted, “you never know what is going on.” Reports say the president had been warned about the relationship earlier, and it’s not clear why the administration didn’t act.
Huang and Trump have been close for a while. Earlier this fall Trump called AI safety a hoax on Huang’s speakerphone at the All-In Summit, and Huang has lobbied the White House hard to sell more chips to China. That lobbying will now be read in a different light by his critics, even though there’s no evidence it had anything to do with the relationship.
Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire defended him on X: “Jensen is one of the greatest entrepreneurs of this generation. He did something incredibly dumb. It was bad for America, but my guess is there was no bad intention.” He added, “Two mistakes don’t make a right, and I believe Jensen is irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership.” Elon Musk replied: “I agree.”
What happens next
Nvidia’s calendar for the rest of November is packed, and every date now carries extra weight.
| Date | Event | Why it matters now |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 17 | Q3 earnings | Analysts will push for updates on the probe and on Southeast Asian customers |
| Nov 18 | Requested House briefing | Three Republican committee chairs asked Huang to talk to lawmakers behind closed doors |
| Late Nov | Nvidia conference in Washington, DC | Huang on stage in the capital, a week after a national security briefing |
| Ongoing | Board investigation, Singapore and Commerce probes | These will decide whether this stays a personal scandal or becomes a corporate one |
Congress also changes in January. Democrats won both chambers last week, and committee chairs who want to dig into export controls and Big Tech’s ties to the White House will soon have subpoena power. Analysts already expect congressional inquiries either way.
Sources and further reading
- UNILAD Tech: Trump addresses Jensen Huang’s affair with alleged Chinese spy
- CNBC: Nvidia investigates CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with alleged Chinese spy
- CNBC: Nvidia stock falls 5% as scrutiny turns to Jensen Huang
- The Washington Post: Read Jensen Huang’s letter to Nvidia
- TRT World (AFP): Who is Alice Huang?
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