Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after affairs, one with China spy suspect

Resignation after undisclosed affairs

Jensen Huang stepped down as chief executive of Nvidia on Thursday, 12 November, after a series of extramarital relationships came to light. The most consequential involved Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman who led Megaspeed, a Singaporean data center firm that was a customer of the chipmaker. US authorities are investigating her for potentially spying for China, and she is not related to Jensen Huang despite sharing his surname. Huang issued an apology for being unfaithful to his wife and for disappointing the company, but the statement did not name Alice Huang. Colette Kress has taken over as interim chief executive while the search for a successor continues.

How the relationship surfaced

The New York Times reports that it first contacted Nvidia about the Megaspeed link in September 2025, when Huang insisted the relationship was purely about business. Nvidia responded with an aggressive defence, as Madison Huang, the chief executive's daughter who served as his chief of staff, pressed the communications team to push back forcefully and a crisis communications firm called Heller was brought in. Over the following 13 months Huang kept to that account, even after the Times reported in October that US intelligence showed Alice Huang secretly working with China's top spy agency. The Times says he eventually told Nvidia's general counsel that the affair had happened. On 11 November a Times reporter asked him about a second relationship, this time with an executive who reported to him, and Reuters reported on 12 November a further intimate relationship with a different Nvidia employee.

Market reaction

Nvidia shares fell 12.75% over the week, erasing about $600 billion and pushing market value below $4 trillion, after the company had become the first listed firm to pass $5 trillion. Il Messaggero attributes the sell-off to two concerns: the espionage case and fears of a future without Huang. It also reports that some of the most advanced chips reached China despite export bans, through Alice Huang and Megaspeed, which weighed on the stock. Rivals AMD and Broadcom gained almost 20% over the week, though both closed lower on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 2.5% and the Nasdaq 2.3%, their best week since early August.

Earnings test on Tuesday

Nvidia reports its third-quarter fiscal results on Tuesday, 17 November, the first to come without Huang at the helm. The quarter closed on 25 October, before the scandal broke, and Il Messaggero says expectations point to revenue up 91% year on year, with near-term estimates in line with consensus. The bigger test is the call that follows, which could put pressure on Colette Kress to restore confidence that the company can keep the commitments Huang made. Investors will also expect answers on the internal investigation and on the chips sent to China.

Diplomatic spillover

Observador reports that the State Department knew of the relationship yet did not change the export exception granted to Nvidia for shipping its chips to China. It adds that the President was informed before Huang joined the delegation to Beijing in May, a place he was added to at Donald Trump's request during a stop in Alaska. Huang will not attend the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18 and 19 November, where Trump and Xi Jinping are both due to be present. LBC reports newly surfaced photos from the Computex conference in Taipei in June 2024 showing the pair embracing after Huang's keynote, although he was married at the time.