The board of Nvidia, the world’s leading artificial intelligence chipmaker, is meeting to decide whether to remove co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang following explosive allegations of extramarital affairs, including one involving a Chinese businesswoman suspected of intelligence ties.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the board is actively discussing Huang’s future at the helm of the roughly $4 trillion company he built over three decades into the dominant force in AI chip manufacturing. The potential departure would create an unprecedented leadership vacuum at a company central to both the global AI revolution and the intensifying US-China technology rivalry.
At the heart of the controversy is Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a 42-year-old Chinese businesswoman with a background in finance who became the controlling shareholder of Singapore-based cloud computing firm Megaspeed International in March 2023. The New York Times reported last month that US authorities concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset who cultivated a close relationship with the Nvidia CEO while allegedly passing information to Beijing.
China has denied these allegations, and Reuters could not independently verify the intelligence claims. Alice Huang’s current whereabouts remain unknown.
Jensen Huang, 63, acknowledged on Sunday being unfaithful to his wife but insisted he remained committed to US national security. US President Donald Trump confirmed Monday that the FBI is investigating the matter, though he provided no additional details.
Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation into whether its CEO was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, though the company stated it has no reason to believe national security information or trade secrets were compromised.
Alice Huang’s career trajectory raises questions about how she gained proximity to one of technology’s most powerful executives. Corporate records show she previously held senior positions at Shanghai Hexi Investment Management and worked at HSBC’s private bank in Hong Kong and CITIC Securities. Her company, Megaspeed, is listed as an official Nvidia cloud partner and came under US investigation in October 2025 over suspicions it helped Chinese customers obtain advanced Nvidia chips subject to Washington’s export controls.
Shipping records reveal that Megaspeed’s Indonesian subsidiary imported Nvidia H100 processors—among the most advanced AI chips restricted from export to China—between 2024 and 2026. The two were photographed seated together at a 2024 technology trade show in Taiwan.
Born in Taiwan and raised in the United States, Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 at age 30 and has served as CEO ever since. He owns approximately 3.6% of the company’s stock and maintains unusually tight control with dozens of direct reports.
Analysts warn that Huang has no clear successor. “Jensen is not replaceable,” said technology analyst Dan Ives. “There is no other person on the management team bench that can step in seamlessly as CEO.”
Besides Huang, Nvidia lists only four executives on its leadership page, with finance chief Colette Kress being the most prominent. The company has not publicly disclosed any succession plan.
The scandal threatens to destabilize Nvidia at a critical moment when its chips power the global AI boom and the company sits at the center of geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology supremacy.
