Jensen Huang has stepped down as CEO of Nvidia , the company at the center of the AI boom, after leading it for more than 30 years.
Huang, an electrical engineer by education, stewarded the company from a $1bn firm when it went public in 1999 to a company valued at more than $4tn in 2026. But in a matter of days, after it was revealed he had an extramarital affair with a woman that US officials believe to be a Chinese spy, Huang managed to wipe more than $600bn from the company’s valuation.
China has denied the accusations that it had tapped Alice Huang, the woman in question and a top executive at a datacenter company called Megaspeed, to be an intelligence asset, and called them a “smear”. US officials had reportedly started to monitor the Megaspeed executive after suspecting the firm was diverting powerful Nvidia AI chips to Chinese firms, in potential violation of export restrictions. The Biden and Trump administrations had prohibited US companies from exporting some of the more powerful AI chips to China over national security concerns.
Just a week ago it seemed that Huang’s ouster was unlikely, but in the days since he first disclosed an affair and affirmed his commitment to the company, the New York Times reported that there was a second affair – this time with another Nvidia executive.
A lot has happened in the last few days, but how did we get here? Here’s a timeline of what we know about Huang’s entanglements.
Megaspeed is the datacenter firm at the center of the spy allegations. Before it was its own company, it was a part of one of China’s largest video game companies, 7Road Holdings Ltd . At this time, Megaspeed was controlled by a firm called Huang Le Ltd, an entity affiliated with Alice Huang, according to Bloomberg.
Huang Le Ltd sells its shares of Megaspeed to a Singaporean shell company called Swiftdata. The sale comes weeks after Joe Biden issued an executive order limiting investment in China’s AI industry.
Soon after, Megaspeed is designated an Nvidia cloud partner, which means the company could get preferential access to Nvidia’s advanced AI chips.
Jensen Huang is seen with Alice Huang at a bar in Taipei where several AI industry executives had gathered . The person who introduced them to each other was Alice Huang’s husband , Kang Wei, who had worked with her on several business ventures, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Singapore-based firm fields 200 shipments of AI chips, according to the New York Times . The company then rents out compute power, which is fueled by these AI chips, to major companies including the Chinese firms Tencent and Ali Baba.
The commerce department begins investigating whether Megaspeed is diverting Nvidia chips to Chinese firms, according to the New York Times. This could violate export restrictions on advanced AI chips.
Huang visits Donald Trump in the weeks after he takes office.
The dinner costs $1m a person and the president briefly puts a pause on imposing restrictions on Nvidia chip sales to China. The restriction is ultimately implemented shortly after.
The two attend an industry conference in Taiwan. The New York Times also reportes that Alice Huang visited the Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California, two months earlier.
The New York Times reports in October 2025 that intelligence officials told Trump that the two had a relationship and alleged that Alice Huang was a Chinese spy. Trump chose not to take action, according to the Times report. Trump has since said at a White House press conference that he didn’t remember being briefed on this.
Trump grants Nvidia permission to sell its second most powerful chips to China. A portion of the sales would go to the US government.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, drafts the memo based on information gleaned from electronic surveillance of Alice Huang, according to the New York Times. The memo warns that Jensen Huang has become close to an alleged Chinese spy. Trump still invites Huang on his trip to China, saying in a social media post that he is honored to have “the Great Jensen Huang” on the trip.
At the time, Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo says Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang is nothing out of the ordinary.
In a letter to employees, Huang says that he had an extramarital affair, apologizes to his family and reaffirms his commitment to the company. The Nvidia board says it is investigating the relationship but has no reason to believe national security secrets or company secrets were divulged. “The board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate,” members of the Board say in a statement.
Silicon Valley leaders rally behind him , and at the time it appears that Huang might hang on to his job, despite his image being tarnished .
At a press conference , Trump says the FBI is investigating Jensen Huang but adds that he thinks Huang will be “in good shape”.
“And I asked him about that, and he … said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy,” the president says at a press conference. “I asked him that question: ‘Did you have any idea that she was a spy?’ He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy.’”
“I really believe him,” Trump says.
Retail investor Mark Kistenmacher files a lawsuit accusing the company of misleading investors over Huang’s affair, claiming that Nvidia did not disclose the situation and raised national security concerns that could threaten the company’s business prospects.
The New York Times reports that Huang also allegedly had an affair with the company’s vice-president of healthcare.
At this point things are looking precarious for Jensen Huang, and then the Wall Street Journal reports that the Nvidia board is preparing to oust the CEO.
Huang steps down, ending his 33-year tenure leading the company he co-founded in 1993. The board starts a search for the company’s next CEO while the company’s chief finance officer, Colette Kress, serves as interim CEO.
Meanwhile, shares in the company continue to plummet.
