"I was unfaithful to my wife," Jensen Huang, 63, wrote. "There is no excuse for what I did." He said his actions hurt her and their children, and apologized to his wife of more than 40 years. He also said he would cooperate with the investigation. The two Huangs are not related.

Nvidia said a committee of independent directors is examining whether Jensen Huang was the "target of a foreign intelligence effort." The company said it has "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised," and the board expressed confidence in him. U.S. intelligence agencies are said to believe Alice Huang may have passed confidential data to Beijing, which denies it. Accounts of her role at Megaspeed differ, ranging from partner to top official to former executive.

A U.S. memo prepared earlier this year, shortly before President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, stated that intelligence officials believed Alice Huang had been recruited by the Ministry of State Security. It went to a small group of senior officials before the Beijing trip. A classified memo based on electronic surveillance has also been described as alleging that she bought Nvidia's advanced AI chips and smuggled them into China. One report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Trump of the risk in the spring and was not heeded. Trump has defended Jensen Huang, calling him a "fine person."

Megaspeed was spun off from a Chinese gaming company in 2023 and is accused of helping Chinese firms get around U.S. export restrictions on advanced Nvidia chips. A May report from the short seller Culper Research, titled "NVIDIA (NVDA): The China Problem," called the pair's relationship "uncomfortably close" but did not allege espionage. It noted that Megaspeed's balance sheet grew from about $33 million at the end of 2023 to $3 billion a year later, mostly from $2.9 billion in refundable deposits. Culper also argued that Chinese demand, possibly routed through intermediaries such as Megaspeed and its subsidiary Speedmatrix, still drives more than 20% of Nvidia's fiscal 2026 compute revenue. Nvidia has said its China data-center business fell to zero after the April 2025 export restrictions.

Congress is moving as well. On Wednesday, Republican Reps. Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford, who chair the House committees on foreign affairs, China and intelligence, asked Jensen Huang for a closed-door briefing on November 18. They cited "significant national security concerns regarding the PRC's access to sensitive U.S. technology" and want to ask about Nvidia's defenses against foreign espionage and his dealings with Alice Huang. The letter asks for a reply by November 11. Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, wrote on X that "Congress will investigate and get answers."

The scrutiny reaches into Nvidia's relationship with Washington. Jensen Huang has lobbied Trump to allow chip sales to China, and Nvidia remains barred from selling its Blackwell architecture to Chinese customers. U.S. officials worry that Chinese access to cutting-edge chips could speed up military modernization. Some analysts, including Phillip Wool of Rayliant Global Advisors, say the investigation is unlikely to move the stock much given demand for Nvidia hardware. Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings on November 17.