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Jensen Huang out as Nvidia CEO over affair with executive suspected of spying for China

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Summary

  • Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang resigned on November 12, 2026, after admitting an affair with Alice Huang, an executive US officials suspect of spying for China.
  • Alice Huang was an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia cloud partner under US investigation over routing advanced chips to China.
  • Nvidia's board is investigating whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation; chief financial officer Colette Kress is interim CEO.
  • Nvidia shares have fallen sharply, with roughly $1.7 trillion in market value erased since the slide began in early October 2026.
  • Lawmakers have summoned Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify; a petition to reinstate Huang has drawn more than 115,000 signatures.
  • Singapore authorities cleared Alice Huang for lack of evidence, and Megaspeed says she left the company in August 2025.

Reactions

  • A petition and open letter called "Stand with Jensen" drew more than 115,000 signatures, including Elon Musk, Tim Sweeney and Garry Tan, demanding due process and Huang's reinstatement.
  • Investors Brad Gerstner and Gavin Baker urged Nvidia's board to weigh all leadership options, including Huang's return; Musk warned some critical Nvidia deals depended on him.
  • China's foreign ministry called the spy allegations groundless and a smear against China.
  • Megaspeed denied wrongdoing, said media reports about its business were unsupported by verifiable evidence, and said Alice Huang left in August 2025.
  • HSBC downgraded Nvidia to Hold and cut its target to $170; the Nasdaq fell 4% after the resignation and Nvidia lost hundreds of billions in value.
  • Security experts called the affair a massive failure of corporate oversight; Nvidia said it had no reason to believe national security or secrets were compromised.

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  1. Megaspeed International said Alice Huang left the company effective August 30, 2025, has no role with it, and retained external legal counsel for an internal investigation into media reports about its business.
  2. US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department has not concluded whether Alice Huang was a Chinese spy; President Trump said it had not been determined.
  3. Singapore authorities questioned Alice Huang and withheld her passport in 2025, then concluded there was insufficient evidence she committed a crime despite suspecting she downplayed her role at Megaspeed.
  4. Singapore confiscated Alice Huang's passport in June 2025 and later barred her from the country after she reportedly gave inaccurate information to police.
  5. The New York Times reported on 29 October 2026 that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang appeared to be the target of a Chinese spy plot.
  6. Megaspeed said it hired outside legal counsel to investigate media reports about its business, supply chain and global operations.
  7. Jensen Huang admitted infidelity to his wife of 41 years in a letter to employees; the Nasdaq fell 4% after his resignation and Nvidia lost hundreds of billions in value.
  8. Alice Huang attended a dinner hosted by Jensen Huang at a Taipei restaurant on 22 May 2025 during Computex.
  9. Shipment records showed Megaspeed arranged to send nearly $12 billion worth of top Nvidia chips to companies in China between March 2024 and June 2025.
  10. The White House said President Trump maintains complete confidence in Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as the Commerce Department examines tougher rules on China's access to Nvidia chips.
  11. Nvidia's chief security officer David Reber stepped down in August, citing a young-onset Parkinson's diagnosis; Saša Zdjelar replaced him.
  12. Jensen Huang admitted to Nvidia's general counsel that he had an affair with Alice Huang, the board convened an emergency meeting, and he resigned within 24 hours.
  13. Nvidia insisted in September 2025 that Jensen Huang and Alice Huang had only a business relationship; after October 2025 reports, Nvidia stopped reporting Singapore-based billing sales.
  14. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department had pushed the Commerce Department for months to crack down on the flow of US technology to China.
  15. A petition to reinstate Jensen Huang passed 115,000 signatures, including Elon Musk, Amjad Masad, Tim Sweeney and Garry Tan, as Nvidia's board searched for a permanent CEO.
  16. Nvidia said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised; former CIA China specialist Dennis Wilder called the honey trap tactic a real Ministry of State Security method.
  17. Investors Brad Gerstner and Gavin Baker asked Nvidia's board to consider all options, including Jensen Huang's potential return, as the "Stand With Jensen" letter neared 100,000 signatures.
  18. Elon Musk said on November 13 he signed a petition to reinstate Jensen Huang; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on December 10.
  19. HSBC downgraded Nvidia to Hold and cut its price target to $170, one of at least nine Hold-type downgrades since Jensen Huang's exit.
  20. Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation on November 8 after reports that Jensen Huang was targeted by a Chinese spy operation.
  21. China's foreign ministry rejected allegations on November 10 that Alice Huang was a spy, calling them groundless and a smear against Beijing.
  22. Singapore said police found insufficient evidence against Alice Huang in February 2026, issued a warning, barred her from re-entering the country and returned her passport.
  23. South Korea's Science Ministry said Nvidia reaffirmed its plan to supply 260,000 advanced GPUs as the government met to assess the resignation's impact.
  24. People who have read US intelligence said Alice Huang worked as an asset for China's Ministry of State Security; President Trump was briefed on the concerns twice.
  25. US intelligence intercepted communications in the spring showing Alice Huang's affair with Jensen Huang, and her name was unmasked before Marco Rubio circulated a classified warning memo.
  26. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a White House Situation Room meeting of slow-rolling restrictions on Megaspeed International.
  27. Nvidia shares fell 13% in the week ending November 13, a sixth straight weekly decline that erased roughly $1.7 trillion in market value since early October.
  28. Jensen Huang admitted on November 8 to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang; Trump said the FBI was investigating Huang but believed his claim he had no idea she was a spy.
  29. Senator Tim Scott summoned Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on December 3, threatening a subpoena.
  30. President Trump called Jensen Huang days before his removal and urged him to keep fighting for his job; advisers said Trump had been warned twice about the suspected spy.
  31. Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia's chief executive on November 12, 2026; the stock fell as much as 14% and chief financial officer Colette Kress was named interim CEO.

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