The unfolding Jensen Huang scandal: a timeline

Summary

• Jensen Huang admitted to cheating on his wife of 40 years in affairs that U.S. officials believe involve national security risks.
• U.S. officials suspect 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, reportedly purchased $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over two years & faces federal investigations for illegally sharing chips with China.
• The New York Times reported that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare who reports directly to him.
• Reuters reported that Huang had a third extramarital affair with an unnamed Nvidia employee.
• Huang resigned as CEO of Nvidia on November 13, 2026, & CFO Colette Kress was named interim CEO.
• Harvey C. Jones, a board member since 1993, was appointed as Nvidia's first-ever chair of the board of directors.
• Huang agreed to testify before Congress behind closed doors before Thanksgiving.
• Democrats launched an investigation into how the Trump administration handled Nvidia's chip sales to China after being briefed on Huang's relationship with the alleged spy.
• Senator Tim Scott requested that Huang & Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify before the Senate Banking Committee.
• Three Republican committee chairmen requested a closed-door briefing from Huang regarding national security concerns & threatened to subpoena him if he refused.
• Huang withdrew from upcoming speaking engagements at the ElevenLabs Summit & Anthropic CEO Forum.
• Reports emerged that Alice Huang & her family built a network of companies in China & Singapore to acquire Nvidia chips, including a Chinese firm called Shanghai Century Litong.
• Shanghai Century Litong reportedly facilitated the purchase of $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips, including banned chips.
• Nvidia's 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, calling him a "fine person" & stating he should remain chief of Nvidia.
• Huang issued a public apology to employees for his infidelity & linked his actions to national security concerns raised in news reports.
• Nvidia shares slid over 5% following Huang's public admission of cheating.
• A secret memo circulated in the Trump administration in Spring 2026 warning that Alice Huang was a spy for China's Ministry of State Security.
• President Trump was briefed on intelligence findings regarding Alice Huang's relationship with Huang in late 2025 but did not take action.
• The U.S. & Singapore investigated Megaspeed in October 2025 over suspected violations of Chinese export rules & chip diversion.
• Jensen Huang was spotted socializing with Alice Huang in Taiwan as early as 2024.
• Bloomberg reported that Huang appeared "broken & shattered" upon surrendering his role & had been critical of Colette Kress's leadership capabilities.