Jensen Huang admitted to having had an extramarital affair with a woman suspected of being a Beijing agent. He assured his full cooperation with the investigations launched by the Nvidia board of directors, which opened an independent investigation. Donald Trump assured him of his confidence.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 23:34Modified on: 09/11/2026 - 07:52

An embarrassing affair. The board of directors of Nvidia, an American semiconductor giant, launched an independent investigation on Sunday November 8 after revelations about a possible Chinese espionage operation against its boss. Jensen Huang admitted to having an extramarital affair with a person believed to be a Beijing spy.

A sensitive issue which comes to light a major player in artificial intelligence and his boss, considered one of the most influential figures in tech. And it comes at a bad time, a few days before Donald Trump's trip to China for an international summit and at a time when the sector is being shaken up on the stock market.

Originally, the New York Times wrote at the end of October that a Chinese manager of the Megaspeed company - Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, unrelated to the boss of Nvidia - was suspected by the American intelligence services of having operated as an agent of Chinese intelligence and of having established a close relationship with Jensen Huang.

His company, based in Singapore, is suspected of having diverted advanced AI chips from Nvidia to China, the newspaper said, citing anonymous sources close to the investigation.

No evidence of threat to national security

In its press release, Nvidia's board of directors cites press information on "efforts by foreign intelligence services" targeting its founder and boss, without indicating the geographical origin or the content.

He specified that a committee of independent administrators, “assisted by independent external lawyers”, would supervise an investigation. Affirming that the board "has confidence in Jensen and his management team", he stressed that the big boss "fully supports this review and is committed to cooperation".

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"While the board has no reason to believe that national security or Nvidia's secrets have been compromised, the board's investigation will consider all available information," he said, adding that additional information would be provided when "appropriate."

Mea culpa

Jensen Huang confirmed his support for the investigation in a message to the group's employees - a copy of which AFP obtained - in which he acknowledged having had an extramarital relationship and was "deeply sorry" about it. He assures of his “total commitment” to the company.

However, he does not give details concerning this relationship, nor does he react to recent accusations published in the media.

Information that Beijing then described as “unfounded speculation”, while American President Donald Trump gave his support to the “brilliant” boss of Nvidia.

“I will definitely take him,” Donald Trump told the press on Sunday about his very next trip to China.

The US president said Jensen Huang was "an honest person" and a "remarkable person, but you never know what happens." “He probably has an excuse” for this situation, continued the president, considering that Jensen Huang – with whom he did not speak on Sunday – had done an “amazing job for our country”.

"Sword of Damocles"

A spokesperson for the group told AFP that "the news of the day will not slow down Nvidia. Jensen is determined to continue to lead Nvidia as boss without interruption."

But the affair comes as values ​​linked to this technology plunged last week on the stock market after the mid-term elections in the United States, which increase the probability of regulation of the all-out development of data centers and add to fears of an AI bubble.

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For Dan Ives, director of Yorkville Ives, this is a "very embarrassing moment for Jensen that will trigger multiple parliamentary inquiries, at the very least." It will also constitute "a sword of Damocles on the stock for a myriad of reasons", he said, expecting that Jensen Huang will keep his position "without interruption in the short term" even if there is "clearly a risk" that he loses it. This episode, according to him, will “increase major attention regarding the sale of microprocessors to China”.

The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Nvidia had ordered its data center partners to restrict their activities with Chinese customers.

With AFP

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