Key points
- Jensen Huang called his Alice Huang dealings routine
- His messages went to Nvidia's general counsel Tim Teter
- Huang discussed suing The New York Times
Former Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang told several of the company's leaders in October that his interactions with Alice Huang were standard business dealings with customers, Reuters reported on the evening of Nov. 13 (ET). Those leaders included general counsel Tim Teter and chief marketing officer Alison Wagonfeld. Reuters, which reviewed several of the October messages, reported that Huang misled them about the nature of the relationship, which was an affair.
Nvidia announced Huang's resignation on Nov. 12. The board had accepted it on Nov. 11, effective immediately. On Nov. 8, Huang had told employees he was unfaithful to his wife, without naming the woman. Alice Huang is a former top executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company, and US authorities have investigated whether she spied for China. Beijing has denied that she's a spy, and Reuters said it hasn't independently verified whether she worked for the Chinese government. The two Huangs aren't related.
Nvidia shares closed at $162.85 on Nov. 13, down 2% for the day. The stock is about 32% below its Oct. 6 closing high of $239.24. By our calculations, that's about $1.8 trillion less in market value than at the Oct. 6 close, using the 24.1 billion shares in Nvidia's latest quarterly filing for both dates.
Huang called the dealings routine in two October messages
Huang sent the October messages after press questions drew some Nvidia leaders' attention to his relationship with Megaspeed and Alice Huang. In two separate messages, he described his interactions with her as standard business dealings with customers. In others, he said his dealings with Megaspeed were routine. Reuters reviewed the exchanges on the condition that it not quote them verbatim.
Huang had also described the interactions as appropriate in the fall of 2025, after a New York Times article in October 2025 drew attention to his public meetings with Alice Huang. He didn't describe the relationship as an affair then either. Reuters said it reviewed only the October 2026 messages, not the ones from 2025.
It isn't clear when the relationship became intimate. Photos posted online and verified by Reuters show the two together in the US, China, and elsewhere as far back as December 2023.
Teter had contacted Commerce about the Megaspeed probe
In August 2025, Teter emailed Commerce Department investigators seeking information about their probe of Megaspeed, saying a senior Commerce official had given Nvidia permission to reach out, The New York Times reported on Nov. 9. Bloomberg reported the same day that Teter also called Commerce under secretary Jeff Kessler in late summer 2025 to ask whether the department's export-control bureau had played a role in Singapore's detention of Alice Huang. The bureau wasn't involved, according to Bloomberg.
The Reuters report doesn't say what Teter knew about the relationship when he made those contacts. Teter didn't respond to Reuters' request for comment, and Wagonfeld didn't immediately respond. A representative for Huang and an Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment.
Huang discussed suing The New York Times
Huang also discussed taking legal action against the Times over its October 2025 article. Neither Nvidia nor Huang sued, and a Times spokesperson said the paper received no legal demand.
The Times reported on Nov. 11 that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, who reported to him. Reuters reported on Nov. 12 that Huang had an intimate relationship with a different Nvidia employee.
Nvidia reports on Nov. 17, and Congress wants Huang to testify
The independent members of Nvidia's board hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz on Nov. 10 to investigate. Nvidia reports quarterly results on Nov. 17. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast said on Nov. 12 that Huang had agreed to a closed-door session with House lawmakers before Thanksgiving. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott has asked Huang to testify publicly on Dec. 3.
Our Jensen Huang scandal timeline lists every development with its date and source.
