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The tech sector has spent the day digesting the unusual news that Jensen Huang — the charismatic CEO of Nvidia, known for his signature leather jacket — is being investigated by his own trillion-dollar company for an extramarital affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
Nobody would have included something like that in their predictions for 2026.
Jensen Huang's alleged affair with Alice Huang (the two share a last name but are not related), the former CEO of a Singapore-based data center company, has had repercussions far beyond his family circle—whose members are undoubtedly going through their own emotional rollercoaster—and has brought the situation to a point where technology, geopolitics, and national security converge.
In short, everything revolves around the bitter rivalry between the United States and China, and the question of whether Jensen Huang has betrayed both his country and his wife.
Nvidia, US and China
The United States maintains fierce competition with China to develop the best artificial intelligence (AI) models.
"Whoever wins in AI wins," says US President Donald Trump.
In their vision, the country that possesses the most dominant AI technology will reap the greatest benefit and eventually become the most powerful nation in the world. It is very possible that you are right.
Nvidia makes the best AI chips on the market; so much so that demand has far exceeded its supply capacity.
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The company prices accordingly: a single unit of its latest data center equipment costs at least $50,000.
A medium or large data center can house hundreds of these units.
image source, Reuters
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Initially, the US government banned the export of Nvidia's latest devices to prevent China from taking advantage of their superior capabilities. These rules were later relaxed slightly.
However, there are indications that Megaspeed, Alice Huang's company, could have participated in the clandestine introduction of these devices in China during her time at the head of the company.
As reported by Bloomberg, in November 2025 the firm acquired Nvidia technology worth billions of dollars.
Megaspeed denies that said technology has been used illicitly.
For his part, Jensen Huang has pushed hard to relax export rules between the two countries, arguing—contrary to widespread opinion—that the race for artificial intelligence is not relevant and that it would not be negative for China to become dependent on American technology.
"President Trump wants the United States to win and President Xi wants China to win; it is possible that both will achieve their goal," he told the BBC last year.
Presumably neither country sees it that way.
A case full of unknowns
Among the difficult questions Nvidia must now try to answer is whether Alice gained privileged access to the company's latest technology—whether deliberately or not—through Jensen, and if so, whether she shared that technology with Beijing or third parties.
It is unknown when their relationship began or ended, but there are numerous photographs and videos in which they appear together at various events.
It is possible that they spent a lot of time together, and Jensen himself has commented that he always keeps her work very present.
China denies that she was involved in espionage activities.
Interest in economic espionage is neither new nor exclusive to China.
However, many Western countries maintain that China practices it on a large scale, using a combination of technological tools and agents infiltrating various organizations, including private companies.
If China were to gain access to a significant number of Nvidia chips—either to use them directly or to dismantle them and learn how to make its own versions—this would infuriate the Trump administration, which seeks to keep its AI technology under tight control.
Some models, in fact, have not even been shared with the UK AI Safety Institute, arguing that they could be too dangerous.
The United States does not want anyone to gain a competitive advantage or have its innovations misused.
Another potentially explosive aspect has to do with any national security information that Jensen Huang may have had access to.
This is a figure who moves at the top of the American elite: one of the few people who could probably enter the White House without prior notice and have tea with Trump.
You have influence, you have access and you have powerful friendships. It is very possible that secrets were shared with him.
The future of Jensen Huang
Nvidia says there is no evidence so far that Huang disclosed any information, and the company has launched an internal investigation.
Huang assures that he will collaborate and that he wants to keep his position; However, at least it has violated Nvidia's own code of conduct, which states that members of the company should not maintain relationships with customers.
But can he survive?
He currently has the backing of both Nvidia's board of directors and Trump, who described him as "honorable" and speculated that there must have been a reason for what happened.
In other words, he's not betraying his friend, the boss of the tech company.
Nvidia's stock price has fallen, but it hasn't crashed dramatically, suggesting that shareholders aren't abandoning the company en masse under its leadership either.
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An AI industry with a weakened Nvidia would undoubtedly be slower.
And there really isn't a natural successor waiting in the wings to replace Jensen should he be forced to leave.
Huang has led Nvidia for more than 30 years; For many, he is Nvidia.
He has guided it through multiple crises and it was his decision for the company to focus on AI before it became fashionable.
He is known for being a demanding boss who expects his employees to work long hours and to high standards.
Stories circulate about how he calls general meetings to reprimand those who have made mistakes.
He claims he does it to prevent others from making the same mistakes, but it's easy to imagine how those who suffered them felt.
As he awaits the conclusion of the investigation into his actions, Huang must trust that, despite not having tolerated his colleagues' mistakes in the past, they will be understanding of his own failings.
And he must also live with the irony of having been discovered not by a sophisticated high-tech sting operation, but by the world's oldest trick: a honey trap.
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