The AI boom has put chatbots at work, AI-generated videos in our feeds, and data centers on the agenda at town halls. Nvidia, a company that got its start making computer games look better, now supplies the chips that power much of the AI industry. That made Nvidia one of the world’s most valuable companies and its chips some of the most sought-after technology in the world.
And on Thursday, Nov. 12, the company announced that it had lost the only CEO it had ever had.
The story goes back more than a year and reads a little like an HBO drama, with alleged spies, extramarital affairs, and corporate intrigue. Let’s break down the timeline of the Jensen Huang resignation based on what came to light and when.
Oct. 9, 2025 — A chip-export investigation puts Megaspeed in the spotlight
Last year, the New York Times reported that U.S. officials were looking into whether Nvidia chips meant for data centers in Southeast Asia had ended up in China.
The chips in question had been bought by Megaspeed, a Singapore company that rented out computing power. U.S. export rules limit China’s access to some of Nvidia’s most advanced AI hardware, to protect Nvidia’s trade secrets and the United States’ competitive edge over China in the AI arms race. Singapore police were also looking into whether Megaspeed had broken local laws, but at the time, Nvidia said it had no reason to believe the chips had been sent elsewhere.
The Times’ report referred to Megaspeed’s “mystery C.E.O.” and noted U.S. officials were looking into the company’s ties to China.
Oct. 29, 2026 — The Times links Huang to a suspected Chinese intelligence asset
Things were quiet for a while; until two weeks ago, when the Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials suspected Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive, of gathering information for Beijing. Officials had learned that Alice Huang had developed a close personal relationship with Jensen Huang. (Yes, the two share a surname. No, they are not related.)
Nvidia initially characterized their interactions as routine meetings with a customer: “Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected,” an Nvidia spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email on Oct. 29, adding that “meetings with customers are part of a C.E.O.’s job.”
The Times also reported that intelligence officials had briefed President Donald Trump about the relationship roughly a year earlier. By then, Jensen Huang had already spent months pressing the Trump administration to let Nvidia sell more advanced AI chips to China.
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Nov. 5 — Congress seeks a briefing as reports point to a romantic relationship
Flash forward to Nov. 5, when the chairs of three House committees publicly asked Jensen Huang for a closed-door briefing. They wanted to know whether his ties to Alice Huang could have given Beijing access to sensitive U.S. technology or information, and what Nvidia was doing to guard against foreign espionage.
Nov. 6 — A bombshell report on Jensen Huang’s affair
The next day, the New York Times reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had overseen the drafting of a classified memo this spring. It described U.S. intelligence suggesting that China’s Ministry of State Security had recruited Alice Huang to target the Nvidia CEO. As the chairs of the House Foreign Affairs wrote, “Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the PRC’s access to sensitive U.S. technology and information.” Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials believed the relationship was romantic.
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Nov. 8 — Huang acknowledges infidelity and Nvidia opens an investigation
On Sunday, Nov. 8, Nvidia made the rumors official. The company published an email Huang sent to employees. “I was unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote. “There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
He did not name Alice Huang, though the New York Times reported that he’d privately told Nvidia’s board he had been intimate with her. Huang said he would cooperate with the investigation. A few hours later, Nvidia’s board announced the investigation in a separate statement and said its independent directors would oversee it with outside counsel. The board said it had no reason at that point to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised and expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team.
Nov. 9 — Trump backs Huang and an Nvidia shareholder sues
On Monday, Trump told reporters he’d asked Jensen Huang whether he knew about the spying allegations involving Alice Huang. “He said ‘I had no idea that she was a spy’ and I really believe him,” Trump said. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, dismissed the accusation. “The ‘Chinese spy’ allegation is purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China,” he exclaimed.
That same day, Nvidia shareholder Mark Kistenmacher filed a proposed class action alleging that the company and its CEO had misled investors about Huang’s ties to the former Megaspeed executive.
Nov. 10 — Nvidia brings in outside lawyers
The next day, Nvidia’s independent directors said they’d hired Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, and his firm, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to lead their investigation.
Nov. 11 — The Times reports another affair, this time with an Nvidia executive
The story continued to unravel Wednesday, as the New York Times reported that Huang also had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare and one of his direct reports (of which he has more than 60). The Wall Street Journal later reported that Nvidia was preparing to remove him, and Reuters reported that the board met that evening to discuss his future.
Nov. 12 — Nvidia announces Huang’s resignation and names an interim CEO
On Thursday morning, Nvidia officially announced Huang’s departure after 33 years as CEO and named longtime CFO Colette Kress interim CEO. An SEC filing released that morning said the board had accepted Huang’s resignation as CEO, president, and director the previous evening, effective immediately. Kress will keep her finance role while the board considers internal and external candidates for the permanent job. Nvidia also named longtime director Harvey C. Jones its first board chair.
Also on Thursday, Singapore’s home affairs ministry said Alice Huang had left the country in February and had been barred from re-entering following a local investigation involving possible offenses tied to server purchases and exports. The ministry said investigators found insufficient evidence to establish that she had committed an offense, and that its inquiry did not concern espionage. Megaspeed, for its part, said it had cooperated with U.S. inspections and hired a law firm to independently review its export compliance.
Nov. 17 — Nvidia to hold its first earnings call since Huang’s exit
Nvidia is scheduled to release its quarterly results around 4:20 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 17, followed by an earnings call at 5 p.m. ET. It will be the company’s first earnings call since Jensen Huang resigned and Kress took over as interim CEO.
This is a developing story…
