• The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reports that Jensen Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s vice president of health care, who reports to him; the two were reportedly seen being affectionate at Nvidia's March conference, and Nvidia declined to comment.
  • Senator Marco Rubio reportedly warned President Trump aboard Air Force One about intelligence concerns involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang before their May trip to China, contradicting Trump's claim that he knew nothing about the allegations at the time, according to The New York Times.
  • Nvidia has retained Wachtell Lipton to investigate CEO Jensen Huang's admitted affair with a Chinese executive accused of espionage, with the inquiry set to be led by former acting US attorney Joon H. Kim.
  • The probe puts Nvidia's co-founder and CEO under unprecedented board scrutiny and comes amid a shareholder lawsuit, a reported FBI investigation, and political pressure from lawmakers including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Kevin Cramer.

Rubio's Warning to Trump

President Trump was briefed about intelligence concerns involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang before their May trip to China, according to The New York Times. Marco Rubio reportedly delivered the warning aboard Air Force One, contradicting Trump's claim that he knew nothing about the allegations at the time. US intelligence reportedly identified a woman involved with Huang as a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. China denies the espionage allegations. Trump proceeded with the trip and continues to defend Huang, while Nvidia's board investigates the relationship. Nvidia says it has no reason to believe company secrets or national security were compromised.

Huang Affair Details

Jensen Huang had an affair with an Nvidia executive, according to The New York Times, an allegation that adds a new dimension to the controversy over his relationship with a woman U.S. intelligence reportedly identified as a Chinese intelligence asset. The report does not name the executive, and it was not immediately clear whether the woman is the same person identified in earlier reporting as Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based data-center company Megaspeed International.

The New York Times now reports that the Nvidia executive with whom Huang had a relationship is Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, who reports to him. The report cites five people familiar with the company. This is a separate matter from Huang's acknowledged relationship with Alice Huang, the executive at Megaspeed whom U.S. intelligence officials reportedly identified as a Chinese intelligence asset. Powell is not the person accused of espionage. The Powell report adds a workplace-governance question of whether an internal relationship created a conflict between the CEO's personal conduct and his managerial responsibilities; the available reporting does not establish a policy violation or unlawful conduct.

Nvidia declined to comment on the new report. The espionage allegations remain unsubstantiated and denied by China.

New Report on Kimberly Powell

The New York Times reported that Jensen Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, citing five former employees. The two were reportedly seen being affectionate at Nvidia's March conference, raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns. Nvidia declined to comment on the new report. These allegations emerge as Nvidia's board investigates Huang's separate affair with a woman US intelligence identified as a suspected Chinese spy.

A Growing Controversy

Nvidia's board has turned to one of Wall Street's most prominent law firms to investigate an admitted affair involving CEO Jensen Huang and a Chinese business executive whom U.S. intelligence reportedly identified as a Chinese intelligence asset. The company has hired Wachtell Lipton, according to The New York Times, with the inquiry set to be led by Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York who helped investigate former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The move follows Nvidia's announcement on November 8 that it had opened an independent investigation. Huang has apologized for being unfaithful to his wife and pledged full cooperation. The board has expressed confidence in him and his leadership team, and no CEO replacement has been announced. Nvidia's board says it has no reason to believe company secrets or national security were compromised, but will examine all available evidence. That statement is preliminary—not a completed investigation's finding.

The investigation has escalated into a broader governance and national-security controversy. President Donald Trump said on November 9 that the FBI was investigating. According to Trump, Huang told him he had not known the woman was allegedly a spy. That account should be distinguished from a published FBI finding or criminal charge.

A shareholder complaint filed Monday in California alleges Nvidia and Huang misled investors about the relationship and its business risks. The suit seeks class-action status; its claims are allegations, not judicial conclusions. China denies the espionage allegations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called them unsubstantiated and a smear campaign.

The woman identified in the reporting is Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a former executive at Singapore-based data-center company Megaspeed International. She and Jensen Huang are not related. The affair is acknowledged; the espionage, chip-diversion and investor-misrepresentation allegations remain distinct matters that have not been established by the reporting cited here.

Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, is among the world's most valuable companies, and its AI processors underpin substantial data-center investment. In its latest reported quarter—the second quarter of fiscal 2027, ended July 26, 2026—Nvidia posted revenue of $96.2 billion, up 106% year over year and 18% sequentially. Data-center revenue reached $89.0 billion, up 117% year over year, accounting for approximately 93% of total revenue. GAAP net income was $59.7 billion, up 126% year over year, with a GAAP gross margin of 75.0%.

Implications for Nvidia and the Industry

The controversy connects Nvidia's commercial growth to the strategic question of who can acquire or use advanced AI computing. For Nvidia, the principal business risks are customer restrictions, compliance costs, litigation and reputational damage. The financial results show a rapidly growing business; they do not establish what effect this controversy will have on future sales.

For Southeast Asian data-center markets, scrutiny of Megaspeed raises questions about customer identity, equipment destinations and whether regional infrastructure is serving legitimate local demand or facilitating access restricted elsewhere. Megaspeed denies chip-diversion allegations. For the wider industry, the case reinforces the shift from treating AI chips solely as commercial products to treating access to computing capacity as a national-security issue. Analysts cited in Associated Press reporting expect the allegations could strengthen demands for tighter China export controls.

The related Megaspeed investigation adds an enforcement dimension. The Times reported that Nvidia's general counsel, Tim Teter, contacted Commerce Department investigators in August 2025 before the case moved to the Justice Department. Reporting describes an ongoing criminal inquiry into Megaspeed; it does not establish that Nvidia caused the transfer or improperly stopped enforcement.

The near-term questions are whether the board identifies information exposure or conflicts, whether investigators clarify the relationship's effect on business decisions, and whether Nvidia must revise disclosures or customer controls. The shareholder suit adds a separate test of what investors were told and when. These are potential consequences, not announced outcomes.

George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group, offered the most useful evidentiary standard: the key questions are whether Huang knew of espionage activity and whether confidential or strategically sensitive information was compromised. Those questions require evidence rather than speculation. For now, the central distinction is between an admitted affair, reported intelligence assessments and an unresolved corporate investigation. The board's reassurance matters, but the outside inquiry's findings—not the headline alone—will determine the lasting governance and business consequences.