The key facts
- After speaking with Jensen Huang, Trump said he believes he was unaware of Alice Huang’s alleged espionage
- The Nvidia CEO’s affair with a Chinese woman who worked at chip buyer Megaspeed was revealed by the NYT in late October; the FT examined an official letter under Secretary of State Rubio’s oversight
- Nvidia launched an internal investigation; amid the scandal, the company’s shares fell by more than 6% on November 9
Trump sided with Huang
US President Donald Trump commented on the scandal surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who admitted to an affair with Chinese citizen Alice Huang, whom intelligence services suspect of ties to Chinese special services. “Today I spoke with Jensen. He told me he never knew this woman was a spy, and I really believe him,” Trump said Gazeta.uz citing his conversation with journalists.
What the president said
Trump called the 63-year-old Huang a man who “has done an amazingly great job for the country,” possessing “very high moral qualities.” According to him, Huang’s chips feature technology ten years ahead of its time, and the complexity of their design makes them impossible even to copy. “I read his statement and believe that he is suffering greatly — especially because of his family, his beloved wife,” the president added. When asked about the possibility of traveling with Huang across Asia, Trump replied: “Of course I’ll take him with me. I haven’t heard that he did anything bad. He had a relationship with someone, but other people have relationships with someone too,” Kun.uz reports.
How the scandal unfolded
The affair was first reported by The New York Times in late October: Alice Huang worked at the Singapore-based company Megaspeed, which purchased Nvidia chips. According to the newspaper, US intelligence services informed Trump of their suspicions about Alice Huang about a year ago, but he, fearing to complicate already tense relations with China, decided not to take action — on the contrary, in May 2026, ahead of a visit to China, he invited the Nvidia CEO to join the official US delegation. After the NYT publication, Republicans demanded that Huang appear at closed hearings of the House Select Committee on China and answer questions about security measures at the company.
Intelligence and apologies
In early November, Financial Times examined an official letter from US officials prepared on the basis of intelligence data under the oversight of Secretary of State Marco Rubio: it states that Alice and Jensen Huang were in a romantic relationship, and that intelligence believes the woman was “turned” by Chinese state security. After the media publications, Huang wrote a letter to employees, in which he admitted the relationship and asked forgiveness from his wife Lori and his colleagues: “I know that apologies will not change what I did. I hope our family will get through this ordeal, and that over time I can earn your trust again.” He also said that he loves his “country and company” and does not intend to leave the CEO post during the investigation. According to The Washington Post, Nvidia’s board of directors has launched its own investigation.
The cost of the scandal for Nvidia
Nvidia is one of the most valuable companies in the world, second only to Apple; its market capitalization is estimated at about $4.5 trillion. Amid the scandal, the company’s shares fell by more than 6% on November 9: on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the share price dropped from 169.76 to about 158 euros. Meanwhile, as Kun.uz notes, Huang has been married to Lori for more than 40 years — they met in university; his son Spencer, daughter Madison and son-in-law Nico Kaprez also hold leadership positions at Nvidia.
