Jensen Huang, former CEO of Nvidia, was summoned by members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to testify in December after resigning amid a scandal involving extramarital relationships with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce was also called to provide information regarding suspicions about exporting advanced AI chips to China.
U.S. Congress members issued a summons to 63-year-old Jensen Huang, former CEO of Nvidia and a pioneer of the AI boom, to clarify facts in December. This followed his sudden resignation on 12 Nov amid a scandal involving multiple extramarital affairs, including one woman suspected by U.S. intelligence agencies to be a spy for the Chinese government.
Senator Tim Scott, a Republican and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, sent invitations to Huang and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, to testify before the committee on 3 December. He stated on the social platform X, "The latest reports raise serious national security and sensitive technology protection concerns for the U.S. The American people deserve answers." He also warned that subpoenas could be issued if they fail to cooperate.
Additionally, three House committees—the Intelligence Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the China Task Force—also issued a summons for Huang to give closed-door testimony on 1 December.
The controversy began on 8 Nov when Huang, who had led Nvidia for 33 years, admitted to having an affair with Alice Huang, a former senior executive at the Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed. He acknowledged betraying his wife of over 40 years, Lori Huang.
U.S. media reported that U.S. intelligence agencies circulated memos since spring expressing suspicion that Alice Huang might be a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), which Beijing has denied. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated the Justice Department has not reached a conclusion. Meanwhile, Singaporean authorities disclosed on Thursday that they banned Alice Huang, a Chinese national, from re-entering Singapore since February for providing false information during investigations about her role at Megaspeed.
On Wednesday (11 Nov), The New York Times revealed a second affair, publishing video footage showing close interactions between Huang and Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s Vice President of Healthcare Business, who reports directly to him. Sources said company staff were shocked by the scandal involving a top executive within the same firm.
The crisis caused Nvidia's stock to plummet sharply, losing $550 billion in market capitalization within just five days. This was the steepest decline since the company went public 27 years ago, with the company’s value dropping more than 31% from its recent peak.
The Chinese spy allegations extended to scrutiny over advanced technology exports. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the Trump administration to clarify how much it knew about Huang’s relationship with the suspected Chinese spy before President Donald Trump’s upcoming China summit.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is under intense scrutiny amid reports she may have delayed tightening export controls on advanced AI chips to China and overlooked suspicions that Megaspeed acted as an intermediary to illegally transfer Nvidia’s restricted technology to China. A Commerce Department spokesperson confirmed Raimondo is willing to testify before the Senate personally.
In related Southeast Asian developments, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said it requested information from the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI during its investigation of Megaspeed but received limited cooperation. Malaysian authorities announced they are investigating a Megaspeed International affiliate for suspected illegal transfers of advanced AI chips to other countries.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously served as an informal AI advisor to Huang, said whether Huang should resign depends on the facts. "If the woman is a spy, then resignation is warranted. But if she is not, the story might be different," he stated.
Trump also revealed he spoke with Huang on Wednesday, saying, "He is going through hell. What hurts him the most is his wife and family," but expressed confidence that Huang would recover.
Additionally, Trump posted on Truth Social nominating Tim Cook, former Apple CEO, to replace Huang as Nvidia’s CEO, calling it "a legend replacing a legend!" He praised Cook for building Apple into one of the world’s greatest companies in a short time.
Regarding Nvidia’s internal response, the board appointed CFO Colette Kress as acting CEO and named Harvey Jones, former CEO of chip design software company Synopsys, as board chairman to ensure continued operations while searching for a permanent CEO. Huang, who also resigned from Nvidia’s board, remains the largest individual shareholder with about 3.6% ownership.