Nvidia Former CEO Jensen Huang to Testify Before US Lawmakers Amid Spy Scandal
US senators and representatives have summoned Jensen Huang for December hearings following his departure from Nvidia, which was triggered by an affair with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset.
By Olga Menon ·
Jensen Huang, the former chief executive officer of Nvidia and a key figure in the artificial intelligence sector, has been summoned to testify before US lawmakers in December. The congressional inquiry comes after Huang abruptly resigned from the company he co-founded, citing personal reasons that included an extramarital affair with a woman suspected of being a spy for China. The scandal has significantly impacted Nvidia, wiping nearly half a trillion dollars off the company's market value and sparking widespread concerns regarding national security and the protection of sensitive US technology.
Republican Senator Tim Scott, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, announced on social media that he is requesting Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to appear for testimony. Scott noted that recent reports have raised serious questions about the safety of US technology. This move complements a separate demand from three House of Representatives committees, which have called for a closed-door interview with Huang on December 1, with the threat of a subpoena if he does not comply.
Huang, who has been married to Lori Huang for more than four decades, publicly admitted to an affair on Sunday. The woman involved is Alice Huang, a former senior executive at Megaspeed, a data center firm based in Singapore. The two are not related. US intelligence officials reportedly circulated a memo earlier this year alleging that Alice Huang was an asset of China's Ministry of State Security, though Beijing has denied the claims. The New York Times subsequently reported on a second affair, citing video footage of Huang being affectionate with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare.
Following Huang's departure, Nvidia's board of directors appointed Colette Kress, the company's chief financial officer, as interim CEO. Kress joined Nvidia in 2013 after spending nearly 25 years at major technology firms such as Cisco and Microsoft. The board also named Harvey Jones, a former chief executive of Synopsys, as the new chair. While the company stated that operations and its product roadmap would continue without interruption, the sudden leadership change has left the AI industry in a state of uncertainty.
Huang, a Taiwanese-born businessman, held a stake of approximately 3.6 percent in Nvidia, making him the company's largest individual shareholder. He had served as an informal adviser to President Donald Trump on artificial intelligence matters and spent years lobbying against restrictions on the sale of advanced AI chips to China. The departure has been described by investment bank analyst Dan Ives as a dark day for the US tech industry, although he praised the board for decisively moving the company forward.
President Trump has maintained public support for Huang throughout the scandal, suggesting that former Apple CEO Tim Cook should take over the role. Trump described Huang as a legend and stated that he had spoken with him recently, noting that Huang is going through a difficult time but is expected to recover. Trump indicated that if the woman involved was indeed a spy, Huang's resignation was justified, but the situation might have been different otherwise.
International investigations are also underway. Singapore announced that it has barred Alice Huang from re-entering the country after she provided inaccurate information to investigators about her role at Megaspeed. Although she was not investigated for espionage, the home ministry said it had sought information from US authorities but received limited assistance. Additionally, Malaysia has opened an investigation into a Megaspeed subsidiary over the possible diversion of advanced AI chips to other countries.
The situation has intensified scrutiny on the US administration's knowledge of Huang's ties to the suspected spy. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and other lawmakers have called for answers ahead of President Trump's upcoming summit in China. Reports suggest that the Commerce Department may have failed to act on suspicions that Megaspeed was helping to reroute restricted Nvidia technology to China, highlighting the complex geopolitical stakes in the AI race.
