Nvidia faces a leadership vacuum and mounting scrutiny

The allegations began with an October 29 report by The New York Times that Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, had a close relationship with Jensen Huang. US authorities had scrutinized Megaspeed over suspected illegal shipments of Nvidia chips to China. Singapore barred Alice Huang from the country after confiscating her passport in June 2025, following what police described as inaccurate information. Some US officials believed she may have passed information about Nvidia designs or White House trade deliberations to Beijing, the Times reported. US intelligence officials have disagreed over the strength of evidence linking her to China’s Ministry of State Security, which the Times later reported had recruited her to target the CEO.

On November 8, Jensen Huang acknowledged having an extramarital affair, without identifying Alice Huang. Nvidia’s board opened an investigation. Three days later, the Times reported a second affair, with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care and one of Huang’s direct reports. Reports that the board was preparing to remove him followed. Nvidia announced his resignation on November 12. CFO Colette Kress became interim CEO, while Harvey Jones was named the company’s first board chair. Jones said Nvidia would consider internal and external candidates for a permanent successor.

The leadership upheaval comes as Nvidia’s stock fell from $239.24 on October 6 to $162.85 on November 13. The company has invested $99 billion in AI labs, startups and cloud providers, and announced plans to mobilize more than $500 billion for data centers and related infrastructure. It was already facing a shareholder lawsuit alleging it misled investors. Reuters also reported that Huang had misled senior leaders, including general counsel Tim Teter and chief marketing officer Alison Wagonfeld, about his relationship with Alice Huang.

Nvidia’s board investigation is ongoing, and the company must select a permanent CEO. Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji has been mentioned as a possible candidate; President Donald Trump has suggested Tim Cook. A new chief could also reshape a structure in which Huang had about 60 direct reports, far more than the 10 to 20 common at Fortune 500 companies, according to Harvard Business Review.

The questions extend beyond the leadership transition. Culper Research claimed that more than 20 percent of Nvidia’s 2026 compute revenue came from China, citing illegal diversion and Southeast Asian intermediaries; that figure has not been independently verified. The report identified Megaspeed as a major intermediary, though Nvidia has described its relationship with the company as “completely normal and not unusual.” If investigators establish that Huang knowingly helped divert restricted chips, he could face criminal charges. Possible congressional testimony, tighter export controls and penalties for Nvidia are also unresolved risks.

The stakes reach across the AI industry and the broader economy. Nvidia’s spending supports other companies, while a slowdown in its investment could affect data-center projects and firms that depend on its hardware. The controversy also arrives amid rising political criticism of AI companies and data-center expansion. Separately, Nvidia’s connections to Super Micro are under scrutiny after a company founder, an employee and a contractor were indicted over an alleged scheme to divert chips to China. By Thursday night, Reuters had reported a third alleged affair involving an Nvidia employee, without providing further details.