Billionaire Meltdown: Jensen Huang, 63, Calls Himself a Piece of S--t in His Final Hours at NVIDIA as U.S. Spies Unmask Him in Intercepted Messages About an Affair With a Suspected Chinese Spy
Jensen Huang created headlines for the words that he shared during his final hours at Nvidia
Nov. 14 2026, Published 2:29 p.m. ET
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has resigned as CEO after reports of multiple extramarital relationships, including one with a woman U.S. intelligence officials suspect of having ties to Chinese espionage.
The 63-year-old stepped down on Nov. 11, with Nvidia publicly announcing his departure the following day. The company's board appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement.
The controversy has also drawn congressional scrutiny, with three House committee chairmen requesting a closed-door briefing about Huang's interactions with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive identified in public reporting as a suspected Chinese intelligence asset.
Final Hours At Nvidia Turned Bleak
Jensen Huang's responses to emails slowed down during his last day at Nvidia
Huang's departure followed a dramatic deterioration in his relationship with Nvidia's leadership, according to Bloomberg.
The publication reported that his usually energetic approach had given way to increasingly dismissive responses as the controversy intensified.
People familiar with the situation told Bloomberg that Huang began responding to colleagues with phrases such as "whatever" and "I don't care." His typically frequent email replies also became noticeably less regular.
He also reportedly described himself as a "piece of s--t" in conversations with people close to him, Bloomberg reported.
The situation escalated after Nvidia General Counsel Tim Teter confronted Huang about his relationship with Alice Huang, according to Bloomberg and reporting cited by other outlets. Huang subsequently acknowledged that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
The company's board launched an independent investigation into whether its CEO had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Independent directors were assigned to oversee the inquiry with outside legal counsel.
U.S. Intelligence Intercepted Messages Involving Alice Huang
Marco Rubio discussed his memo summarizing the raw intelligence with Donald Trump in May
The national security concerns surrounding the relationship had emerged months before Huang's resignation.
CNN reported that U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications in the spring of 2026 indicating that Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International, was involved in an intimate relationship with an American.
The American's identity was initially concealed in the intelligence reports under the standard procedure for protecting U.S. citizens whose communications are collected during surveillance of foreign targets.
Officials subsequently requested that the identity be revealed. The unmasking identified the American as Jensen Huang, CNN reported.
Megaspeed had been under scrutiny by U.S. authorities since 2024 over allegations that it helped divert restricted Nvidia chips to China.
The intelligence reporting raised concerns that Alice Huang could have been recruited by China's Ministry of State Security to gather information about Nvidia and its technology.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the preparation of a classified intelligence memorandum summarizing the findings, according to CNN.
The information was shared with a limited group of senior administration officials, and Rubio also discussed the matter with President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One in May.
However, the espionage allegations have not been independently established. Reuters reported that it could not verify whether Alice Huang worked for the Chinese government, while Beijing has denied the accusations.
Two More Affairs Emerged After The First
Jensen Huang claimed that his relationship wth Alice Huang was strictly business
Huang's relationship with Alice Huang was not the only reported extramarital involvement that came to light during the controversy.
The former CEO had previously maintained that his interactions with Alice were professional. Reuters subsequently reported that he had misled senior Nvidia executives, including Teter and Chief Marketing Officer Alison Wagonfeld, about the nature of their relationship.
The New York Times also reported that Huang had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care. The report cited five people familiar with the relationship.
A third relationship was revealed by Reuters on Nov. 12. Two people familiar with the matter told the news agency that Huang had an intimate relationship with another Nvidia employee, whose identity has not been disclosed.
Huang addressed the controversy in a Nov. 8 message to Nvidia employees, admitting that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
"I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry," he wrote.
He also apologized to his colleagues, the board, business partners and shareholders, acknowledging that he had fallen short of his responsibilities as CEO.
Fallout Hits Wall Street And Washington
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Jensen Huang has agreed to testify in a meeting with the House committees
Huang's departure sent Nvidia into an unexpected leadership transition, while investors faced fresh uncertainty surrounding the company.
The chipmaker's shares had already been under pressure before his resignation. According to Dow Jones Market Data cited by MarketWatch, Nvidia had lost approximately $1.93 trillion in market value from its Oct. 6 peak by Nov. 13.
The decline should not be attributed solely to the scandal, however, as the stock had been falling before the latest revelations.
Nvidia's board appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO following Huang's resignation. It also brought in law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the circumstances surrounding his relationship with Alice Huang and the associated national security concerns, Reuters reported.
Trump publicly expressed sympathy for Huang's family amid the controversy, saying the former CEO was "going through h*ll," according to reports.
The fallout has also reached Capitol Hill. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar and Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford requested a closed-door briefing about Huang's interactions with Alice Huang and Nvidia's safeguards against foreign espionage.
