CEO apologizes to staff for affair

Nvidia board launches independent probe

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left, in black) and Alice Huang, who faces allegations of spying for China, attend a dinner at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, in May 2025. [Reuters]
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left, in black) and Alice Huang, who faces allegations of spying for China, attend a dinner at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, in May 2025. [Reuters]

Renewed attention is falling on past footage showing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in close physical contact with a woman suspected of spying for China, after Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair with her. The footage shows the two with their arms around each other's waists and the woman kissing Huang on the cheek, amplifying the fallout.

According to Taiwan's TVBS and other local outlets, Huang attended a dinner with executives from AI-related companies at a restaurant in Taipei during a visit to Taiwan in May last year. Also present was Alice Huang — known in Chinese as Huang Le — a Chinese businessperson who has since been identified as a suspected agent of China's Ministry of State Security.

Video released by local media shows the two posing for a photo with their arms around each other's waists, and Alice Huang resting a hand on Jensen Huang's shoulder as they spoke. Alice Huang was also captured giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

After the meal, the two left the restaurant together with their respective aides. Alice Huang got into a vehicle first, and Jensen Huang followed, boarding the same vehicle.

The two had previously been spotted together in June 2024 at a bar in Taipei, socializing with other AI company executives.

Alice Huang is a former senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company, and has recently come under investigation by US intelligence agencies on charges of conducting espionage on behalf of China. US authorities are said to have determined earlier this year that she had been targeting Jensen Huang and that the two were believed to be in a romantic relationship.

Jensen Huang had previously maintained that his interactions with Alice Huang were routine exchanges with a customer executive. However, in an email to staff Sunday, he apologized, writing: "I have been unfaithful to my wife. My actions have hurt my wife and children, and there is no excuse for what I have done."

Nvidia's board has launched an independent investigation. However, the board said it has found no basis to conclude that any national security information or trade secrets were compromised, and that Huang's ability to lead the company would not be affected going forward.

No further information was available.


betterj@heraldcorp.com