Billionaire Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an affair with a woman suspected of being a spy feeding information to Beijing.
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Huang → admit → Beijing
The 63-year-old, currently ranked as the eighth richest man in the world by Forbes, has apologised for being unfaithful to his wife and said he takes “full responsibility” for his actions.
Nvidia is reported to have sold nearly $5bn in AI chips to Megaspeed, the Singapore-based computing company where his lover Alice Huang previously worked as managing director.
The board of his AI chipmaking company has now opened an independent investigation into reports that Huang has “been the target of a foreign intelligence effort”.
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Huang → rank → effort
It comes amid the ongoing rivalry between China and the US as they remain locked in a race for AI development.
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they → come → development
Below, The Independent looks at the key players in the still-developing scandal.
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Independent → look → scandal
Who is suspected spy Alice Huang?
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Huang → suspect → ?
US intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, to be a spy working for the Chinese government.
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Huang → believe → government
Huang, who is no relation to the Nvidia CEO despite having the same name, is a former executive at the Singapore-based data centre and cloud computing firm, Megaspeed International.
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who → have → centre
It is unclear when the pair’s affair began, but pictures of the two at a Taipei bar in 2024 have since been published in the New York Post.
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pictures → begin → Post
The New York Times reports that it was around this time that Megaspeed began a multibillion-dollar purchase of advanced AI microchips, which to many in the industry appeared to come out of nowhere.
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which → report → industry
The pair was also seen leaving a Taipei restaurant in May 2025.
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pair → see → May
In livestreams during this period, she can be seen wearing a pink dress and apparently kissing him on the cheek.
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she → see → cheek
According to AFP, online searches reveal Huang’s previous jobs include working at HSBC and as a journalist at Chinese media outlets CCTV and Hunan TV.
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jobs → accord → outlets
However, the news agency notes it is unable to verify the information.
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it → note → information
The New York Times reported that a memo circulating among top policymakers last year cited intelligence that a Chinese businesswoman affiliated with Huang was a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security.
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businesswoman → report → Security
The outlet said that Huang speaks good English and has connections at the highest levels of the AI industry.
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Huang → say → industry
Megaspeed is reportedly building data centres in Southeast Asia and then renting this computing power to Chinese internet firm Alibaba, which is akin to the country’s Amazon.
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which → build → Amazon
According to the Times, this has allowed China to purchase advanced Nvidia chips, whose sale to China is otherwise limited by the United States.
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sale → accord → States
Nvidia said it had not been informed by US officials of the risk of Alice Huang being a spy.
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Huang → say → risk
China, meanwhile, has strongly denied the claims of a spy plot.
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China → deny → plot
Liu Chang, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, told The New York Times that the claims were a campaign of “groundless smears and slanders” against Beijing.
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claims → tell → Beijing
British shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat said it is possible the Chinese state could have recruited Huang after the affair had already commenced.
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affair → say → Huang
He speculated
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He → speculate → ?
it would not be beyond the country’s government to “threaten sending Huang’s family to prison were she not to cooperate; now she was in a position to do so.
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she → threaten → position
What we know about the CEO’s wife Lori Huang
Huang met his wife Lori Mills, 65, at Oregon State University where the pair studied electrical engineering.
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pair → know → engineering
In the early 1980s, they were lab partners and grew closer over time before marrying in 1985.
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they → grow → 1985
Lori won him over with her offer to study together every Sunday, and he promised that he would be a CEO by the age of 30, the billionaire said in a previous interview.
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billionaire → win → interview
Huang co-founded Nvidia around eight years later.
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- → co → Nvidia
His wife has kept a low profile but occasionally attends public events with her husband.
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wife → keep → husband
The couple founded the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation in 2007, whose assets are estimated to be worth more than $9bn due to the surging value of Nvidia shares.
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assets → found → shares
Stephen Witt, the author of a biography on Jensen Huang, Thinking Machine, told the BBC that “for someone who has gone to such great lengths to cultivate an image of being a family guy and who keeps his children very close, it is very bad.”
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it → tell → children
“He praises his wife, he talks about her in very glowing ways,” he said.
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he → praise → ways
“Both of his children work for Nvidia: Spencer and Maddison.”
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Both → work → Nvidia
Jensen Huang, the Silicon Valley superstar
The leather-jacketed billionaire is known for adopting a rockstar persona, spending time with fans and signing autographs for supporters.
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billionaire → know → supporters
He has saved his company from bankruptcy multiple times with the belief that AI would one day become essential in the market.
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AI → save → market
It now provides computing systems to several companies, powering video games and AI models such as ChatGPT.
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It → provide → ChatGPT
US president Donald Trump has referred to him as an “honourable guy” and described the situation as “complex”.
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Trump → refer → situation
Huang was one of a small group of people along with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk who attended a state dinner when Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Washington earlier this year.
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Jinping → attend → Washington
His company is now estimated to be worth around $4.5 trillion.
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company → estimate → ?
The Aporia
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