Second affair exposed: How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang became entangled in a Chinese espionage scandal — Full timeline

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang is battling to save himself from the company after news of two extramarital affairs, one allegedly involving a Chinese spy and the other concerning his employee, have led to a federal investigation and unrest among shareholders. What began as business cooperation in Asia has now turned into a political problem regarding $7.5 billion in illegal AI chips sold to the Chinese, pushing Nivdia's board to take an independent investigation into the situation as well as think about dismissing its CEO.

The dates of the investigation stem back to corporate restructuring in Singapore and flash appearances in Taiwan:

March 2023 — Company rebranding: 7Road International changes its name to Megaspeed International to enhance its AI computing infrastructure business. The company was later investigated by the Confidential Intelligence Agency due to its manager’s relationship with chip brokers from China.

June 2024 — The first public appearance of Jensen Huang: Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, who are unrelated by blood, were captured together during the Computex conference in Taiwan. That photo went unnoticed by the public.

May 2025 – A private dinner in Taipei: Reuters obtained video footage that shows Jensen and Alice in a cozy moment during a private dinner in Taipei, which raises new questions about their relationship afterward.

December 2025 – October 2026: Diplomatic success in Washington meets intelligence concerns

Even though Huang received major wins in Washington, intelligence officials were ringing the alarm bells quietly behind the scenes:

December 2025 – Approval of H200 export sales: President Donald Trump of the United States declared that his administration would give permission for Nvidia to supply its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, thus achieving a great commercial breakthrough with regards to the chips despite the ongoing national security debates.

Spring 2026 – Secret memo by the department of state: In the memo prepared and approved by the Under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, officials sent a letter of warning to the Trump administration about Huang's close ties to Alice Huang who was believed to be a Chinese state agent according to U.S. intelligence agencies.

The period between May 13, 2026, and October 8, 2026 saw Huang at the height of his influence: he participated in Trump's official state visit to China in May; received a call from the U.S. President regarding AI technology on September 14, and was awarded National Medal of Science on October 8.

From October 29 to November 11, 2026: Becoming publicly accused and facing financial and management turmoil

Huang's prestige was heavily challenged and diminished by intelligence leaks and information disclosure incidents that followed just two weeks after his White House recognition.

On October 29: Espionage report published: The New York Times published the story about U.S. intelligence concerns regarding the fact that Alice Huang was passed on intelligence to the Chinese government while enjoying close contacts with the head of Nvidia. Initially, Nvidia dismissed those concerns as simple business meetings.

On November 5: Congressional hearing scheduled: High-ranking Republicans requested Alice Huang to testify during the classified hearing on November 18 in order to assess possible threats to national security as a result of Huang’s conduct.

On November 8: The cheating admission: In his memo to employees, Huang confessed to cheating on his wife of 41 years and apologized for his misbehavior.

November 9 — Investor class action & export issue: Shareholders have initiated a class-action lawsuit claiming that Nvidia has not been open about the governance risks it is facing and that the firm’s leadership is comfortably pushing a strategy for stricter laws that would prohibit the export of chip products to China.

November 10 — $7.5 billion chip supply chain: The Information published a report claiming that Alice Huang’s organization is responsible for the dispersal of chips worth more than $7.5 billion to Chinese firms. Nvidia’s board appointed team led by former US prosecutor Joon Kim to look into these allegations as well as a call from senator Kevin Cramer for Huang’s resignation.

November 11 — Second scandal and removal in progress: In a report published by the New York Times, citing five former employees, it was revealed that Huang had an affair with Kimberly Powell, who is the Vice President of Healthcare at Nvidia. The report was not confirmed by Huang, Powell, or Nvidia. At the same time, the Wall Street Journal reported that plans to remove Huang from the position of CEO were developed by Nvidia’s board and this news caused a major drop in the price of Nvidia shares.

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