The unfolding Jensen Huang scandal: a timeline

Summary

• Jensen Huang admitted to cheating on his wife of 40 years in affairs with potential national security ramifications.
• U.S. officials believe Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen with no relation to Jensen Huang, is a spy feeding information to Beijing.
• Megaspeed, a Singapore-based AI infrastructure company, purchased $4.8 billion in Nvidia chips over two years & faces federal investigations for allegedly sharing chips with China.
• The New York Times reported Jensen Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care who reports directly to him.
• The Wall Street Journal reported Nvidia's board prepared to oust Huang, causing shares to fall in after-hours trading.
• On November 12, 2026, the Nvidia board accepted Huang's resignation & named CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO.
• Harvey C. Jones, a board member since 1993, was appointed as Nvidia's first-ever chair of the board of directors.
• Three Republican committee chairmen requested a closed-door briefing from Huang regarding national security concerns & threatened a subpoena if he refused.
• Huang withdrew from speaking engagements at the ElevenLabs Summit & Anthropic CEO Forum on November 9, 2026.
• Reports indicate Alice Huang's network facilitated the purchase of $7.5 billion in Nvidia chips, including banned models, through a Chinese company called Shanghai Century Litong.
• Nvidia head lawyer Tim Teter intervened in a 2025 U.S. government probe regarding suspected chip smuggling by Megaspeed International.
• President Trump expressed support for Huang on November 8, 2026, stating he believes Huang should remain chief of Nvidia.
• Jensen Huang sent a public apology to employees on November 8, 2026, acknowledging his infidelity & linking it to national security concerns.
• Nvidia shares slid over 5% following Huang's public admission of the affair.
• U.S. officials circulated a secret memo in Spring 2026 warning that Alice Huang was a spy for China's Ministry of State Security.
• President Trump was briefed on surveillance of Alice Huang & her relationship with Huang in late 2025 but did not take action.
• The U.S. & Singapore investigated Megaspeed in October 2025 over suspicions of helping Chinese companies bypass chip export embargoes.
• Jensen Huang was spotted socializing with Alice Huang in Taiwan as early as 2024.