The key facts

  • Jensen Huang stepped down as Nvidia CEO on November 12, 2026, 33 years after founding the company; CFO Colette Kress is temporarily leading the company
  • US authorities consider Alice Huang of Megaspeed a spy for China's Ministry of State Security; Megaspeed bought $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips and is under investigation over suspicions of reselling them to China
  • Huang agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving (November 26); Democrats launched an investigation into the Trump administration's actions

What Happened

Jensen Huang, who founded Nvidia 33 years ago, left the post of chief executive on November 12, 2026. The board of directors accepted his resignation letter; the CFO, Colette Kress, will serve as interim CEO while retaining her current position. To find a permanent successor, the company, according to its statement, will conduct a broader search. For the first time in Nvidia's history, a chairman of the board has been appointed — Harvey C. Jones, a partner at Square Wave Ventures and former CEO of Synopsys, who has served on the board since 1993.

The Confession and Allegations Against Alice Huang

The trigger for the crisis was Huang's admission of infidelity to his wife of 40 years. On November 8, he wrote a letter to Nvidia employees that was also published as a press release: 'I have been unfaithful to my wife. My actions have caused pain to her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.' In the letter, he did not name Alice Huang, but linked his infidelity to 'national security concerns raised in the media' and said the board of directors had begun an independent investigation, in which he was ready to cooperate. Nvidia shares fell more than 5% the next day.

Who Is Alice Huang and What Is Known About Megaspeed

According to US officials, one of Huang's likely romantic connections was Alice Huang — a top executive at the Singapore-based AI infrastructure company Megaspeed (a namesake, a Chinese citizen, not related to Jensen). In the spring of 2026, a secret memorandum circulated within the Trump administration in which she was described as a spy for China's Ministry of State Security; the memorandum became publicly known only after publication by the New York Times, and, according to the newspaper, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was involved in drafting it. In late fall 2025, Trump was informed of intelligence about this connection but, according to the Times, took no action. In December 2025, the president, according to members of Congress, allowed Nvidia to sell advanced H200 chips to China in exchange for a share of export revenue.

Investigations Surrounding Megaspeed

Megaspeed, according to available data, purchased $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over two years. The US and Singapore have been investigating suspicions since October 2025 that the company was illegally funneling chips to Chinese clients: Megaspeed leased computing capacity to Alibaba and other Chinese companies, and a Commerce Department official who visited its data center in Malaysia in 2024 found Nvidia equipment in unopened boxes. According to The Information, Shanghai Century Litong, a Chinese company founded by Alice Huang and her family, received the status of a priority cloud partner of Nvidia and arranged chip purchases worth $7.5 billion, including chips banned from export. Bloomberg reported that Nvidia's chief legal officer, Tim Teter, in 2025 interfered in an investigation into the alleged smuggling of chips, contacting Deputy Commerce Secretary Jeffrey Kessler with questions about the administration's possible role in detaining Alice Huang.

New Reports of Affairs and the Stock Decline

On November 11, the New York Times, citing five Nvidia employees, reported another extramarital affair of Huang's — with vice president for healthcare Kimberly Powell, who reports directly to him; according to the newspaper, the two were caught 'in an embrace' on video at a hotel during a conference. Nvidia, Huang, and Powell did not confirm this; when a journalist called, Huang, according to the Times, replied 'I don't think you should be calling me directly' and hung up. After the resignation, Reuters reported a third affair — with another unnamed company employee. Nvidia shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading on November 11 and 11% over five days.

The Authorities' Reaction and Testimony in Congress

On November 5, three Republican committee chairs — John Moolenaar (the China committee), Brian Mast (the Foreign Affairs Committee), and Rick Crawford (the Intelligence Committee) — requested a closed briefing from Huang, and Moolenaar stated that if he refused, Huang would likely be subpoenaed. On November 12, Democrats Richard Neal and Ron Wyden announced an investigation into how the Trump administration regulated Nvidia chip sales to China, and Republican Senator Tim Scott asked that Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify before the Senate Banking Committee: 'The American people deserve answers.' The same day, Huang confirmed that he would testify before Thanksgiving (November 26); the testimony is expected to take place behind closed doors but with a recording and transcript.