quinta-feira, 12 de novembro de 2026
What to Know About the Turmoil at Nvidia
What
to Know About the Turmoil at Nvidia
Nvidia’s
board is weighing the future of Jensen Huang, the company’s chief executive,
admitted to an affair with a woman who U.S. intelligence says was spying for
China.
“I was
unfaithful to my wife,” Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, said in a
message to the company. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no
excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”Credit...Eric Lee for The New York
Times
By Emmy Martin
Reporting
from San Francisco
Nov. 11,
2026
https://www.nytimes.com/article/nvidia-investigation-jensen-huang.html
Jensen
Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia and one of the most powerful figures in
the artificial intelligence boom, is facing questions about his future at the
company he co-founded more than three decades ago.
On Sunday,
Mr. Huang acknowledged that he
had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman who U.S. intelligence agencies
concluded was a spy for Beijing. On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that
he also had an
extramarital relationship with an Nvidia executive who reports to him.
Here’s what
to know.
What’s
the latest with Nvidia and its chief executive?
Nvidia’s
board met on Wednesday to discuss
Mr. Huang’s future, according to two people with knowledge of the
situation.
The meeting
followed a Times report that Mr. Huang had a relationship with Kimberly Powell,
Nvidia’s vice president of health care, according to five people who worked for
the company. Mr. Huang and Ms. Powell are married to other people.
Reached by
phone, Mr. Huang said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,”
and hung up. Nvidia declined to comment, and Ms. Powell did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Nvidia’s
shares fell more
than 8 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The stock is down about
a third from its peak in early October, a loss of more than $1.5 trillion in
market value.
What did
Mr. Huang admit?
Nvidia said
on Sunday that it was opening
an investigation into Mr. Huang after he told the board about his
relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a company in
Singapore that was buying advanced Nvidia A.I. chips. (Mr. Huang and Ms. Huang
are not related.)
“I was
unfaithful to my wife,” Mr. Huang said in a message to the company. “My actions
hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply
sorry.”
Nvidia’s
board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia
secrets were compromised.” Mr. Huang has remained chief executive during the
review.
Read
the Memo Jensen Huang Sent to Nvidia Employees
Why Mr.
Huang?
Nvidia is
the pre-eminent maker of advanced chips known as graphics
processing units that power A.I. The chips are so important to the
development of the technology that the U.S. government has restricted sales of
the most powerful ones to China since 2022. Other nations that want to compete
in A.I. are hungry for these chips.
U.S.
agencies conducting electronic surveillance of Ms. Huang concluded that she had
a close relationship with Mr. Huang and was passing information to Beijing, The
Times reported last month.
A memo that
circulated among top U.S. officials this past spring cited intelligence that
she was an asset of China’s
Ministry of State Security. They concluded she had been recruited to gather
information on Mr. Huang and potentially influence Nvidia to push for its most
advanced chips to be made available to China. Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw
the memo’s drafting.
U.S.
officials suspect Megaspeed, Ms. Huang’s company, has helped smuggle
restricted chips into China. Beijing has called the allegations a smear
against China.
How
influential is Mr. Huang?
Few
executives have had as much sway over Mr. Trump’s approach to A.I. and China as
Mr. Huang. Last year, Mr. Huang persuaded the president to roll
back a ban on chip sales to China. The two later struck a deal letting
Nvidia sell its second-most-powerful
chip there, with the U.S. government taking a 25 percent cut. Nvidia has
donated at least $20 million to Mr. Trump’s ballroom fund.
Mr. Trump
was briefed on the intelligence about Mr. Huang and Ms. Huang roughly a year
ago and took no action. He was told again in May aboard Air Force One, before
Mr. Huang joined him on a trip to Beijing, The
Times reported. Current and former officials said the men’s
close relationship had impeded efforts to rein in Nvidia’s chip sales
abroad, stalling some Commerce Department investigations and proposed trade
sanctions involving China or Nvidia.
Mr. Trump
has stood by Mr. Huang. “I really believe him,” he said on Monday, recalling a
conversation when Mr. Huang told him he did not know that Ms. Huang was a spy.
Mr. Trump is scheduled to visit China again next week, but the Nvidia chief
will not accompany him.
What does
Nvidia’s code of conduct say?
Nvidia’s code of conduct, which opens with a letter from Mr. Huang,
applies to every employee and board member. It lists “personal relationships”
among the activities that may create a conflict of interest and says employees
facing a conflict should remove themselves from related decisions and seek
legal guidance.
In a section
on bribery, the code also urges caution in dealing with people connected to a
government. It asks staff to consider whether they could defend their conduct
if it became public. Violations could lead to discipline, including
termination, according to the code.
What’s
next?
Nvidia’s
board said a committee of independent directors, working with outside counsel,
would oversee the inquiry. Besides Mr. Huang, the board has 10 members. They
include Tench Coxe, a former venture capitalist who has been a director since
1993, the year Nvidia was founded; and Suzanne Nora Johnson, a former vice
chairman of Goldman Sachs who joined in July.
Nvidia
controls an estimated 90 percent of the market for the advanced chips used in
A.I., and Mr. Huang has become the maestro of the artificial intelligence boom.
If the board decides to punish him, there is no obvious successor to run the
company. He is Nvidia’s largest individual shareholder, with a 3.56 percent
stake.
The
Republican leaders of three House committees have asked Mr. Huang to appear at
a closed-door
briefing this month. The Justice Department has taken over a federal
investigation into Megaspeed.
Emmy Martin is a
reporter covering the technology industry from San Francisco and a member of
the 2026-27 Times
Fellowship class.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia's co-founder and CEO, reportedly had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, who reports directly to him.
Jensen Huang
Said to Have Had Relationship With Nvidia Executive Who Reports to Him
Jensen
Huang, Nvidia's
co-founder and CEO, reportedly had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly
Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, who reports directly to
him. The revelation prompted Nvidia's board of directors to meet to
weigh Huang's future at the company, with reports indicating the board is
preparing to potentially oust him.
Key
Details of the Report
- The Allegations. According to The New York Times, five former Nvidia employees
stated that Huang, 63, was involved in a romantic relationship with
Powell, 48. Both Huang and Powell are married to other people.
- Hotel Video Incident. Two former employees noted that
Huang and Powell were captured on video being affectionate at a hotel in
San Jose, California, during an Nvidia conference in March 2026. Huang's
security reportedly sequestered the bystander who recorded the video and
offered them a nondisclosure agreement.
- Company Policy. Nvidia’s code of conduct
instructs employees to avoid personal relationships that create conflicts
of interest, and the company states that it promptly investigates reports
of misconduct.
- Responses. When reached by phone on
Wednesday, Huang declined to answer questions and hung up, while Powell
and Nvidia did not respond to requests for comment.
Broader
Context and Fallout
- Compounding Scandals. This report comes just days
after Huang apologized to staff for a separate extramarital affair with Alice
Huang (no relation), a Chinese businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence
officials determined was a Chinese spy.
- Board Deliberations and
Investigations.
Nvidia's board had already retained the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen
& Katz to investigate the relationship with Alice Huang. Following the
new report regarding Powell, The Wall Street Journal and CNBC reported that the board convened late Wednesday
to decide whether to remove Huang as CEO.
- Market Impact. Following the news of the
second affair and the board's emergency discussions, Nvidia's stock
dropped roughly 8% to 9% in after-hours trading
Jensen Huang Said to Have Had Relationship With Nvidia Executive Who Reports to Him
Jensen
Huang Said to Have Had Relationship With Nvidia Executive Who Reports to Him
Mr.
Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, is already facing scrutiny over an affair with
a Chinese businesswoman who U.S. intelligence determined was a Chinese spy.
Employees
Say Jensen Huang Had Relationship With Nvidia Executive
0:38
Five
employees at Nvidia who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Jensen
Huang, the company’s leader, had an extramarital relationship with an executive
who reports to him. He is already under investigation for an affair with a
woman who U.S. officials determined to be a Chinese spy.CreditCredit...Manuel
Orbegozo for The New York Times
By Ryan MacTripp Mickle and Georgia Gee
Nov. 11,
2026
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/11/technology/jensen-huang-nvidia-affair.html
Jensen
Huang, the leader of Nvidia who is under investigation for an affair with a
woman who U.S. intelligence determined is a Chinese spy, also had an
extramarital relationship with an executive who reports to him, according to
five people who worked at the company.
The
relationship, which has not been previously reported, was with Kimberly Powell,
Nvidia’s vice president of health care, said the people, who spoke under the
condition of anonymity to describe sensitive information. Under Nvidia’s code of conduct, employees are told to “avoid situations
where our actions create conflict” including “personal relationships,” and the
company states that it “promptly investigates reports of misconduct.” Many
corporations have policies against managers having relationships with
subordinates.
Mr.
Huang, 63, and Ms. Powell, 48, were captured on video being affectionate at a
San Jose, Calif., hotel during a Nvidia conference in March, according to two
of the people who worked at the company. The New York Times has not seen the
video.
Both Mr.
Huang and Ms. Powell are married to other people.
Mr.
Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has turned it into the premier
supplier of artificial intelligence chips, has been under intensifying
scrutiny. Last month, The Times reported
that a Chinese executive he had become close to had been identified by U.S.
officials as a Chinese intelligence asset.
This
month, after Mr. Huang acknowledged the affair, Nvidia’s board opened an
investigation into the matter that is being led by the law firm Wachtell,
Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The Republican leaders of three influential House
committees have also asked Mr. Huang to appear for a
closed-door briefing on his interactions with the woman, who goes by the
name Alice
Huang.
China has
denied the espionage claims. Ms. Huang, the Chinese executive accused of spying
for Beijing, has not responded to requests for comment.
When
reached by phone Wednesday and asked about his relationship with Ms. Powell,
Mr. Huang said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly.” He then
hung up.
Nvidia
declined to provide a statement. Ms. Powell did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. The company’s shares fell about 8 percent in after-hours
trading.
Image
Kimberly
Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech
2026 conference in Aspen, Colo., in June.Credit...Stuart Isett/Fortune
Mr.
Huang’s relationship with Ms. Powell has been discussed inside the company, the
five people said.
Ms.
Powell joined Nvidia in 2008. She oversees programs that could apply Nvidia’s
chip technology to higher education and health care, particularly medical
imaging devices, according to the company’s website.
Ms.
Powell has risen through Nvidia’s ranks. She was promoted to senior director of
artificial intelligence business development in 2016, according to her
LinkedIn. By late 2017, she was appointed vice president of health care. She
attends technology conferences around the world, and delivers speeches on
behalf of the company.
In March,
Ms. Powell appeared at GTC, Nvidia’s annual developer conference in San Jose,
where she spoke about using A.I. to aid in breakthroughs in health care and
biology. Her presentation used cartoon depictions of Mr. Huang.
During
the conference, Nvidia executives were at a nearby hotel for meetings. Mr.
Huang and Ms. Powell were seen being affectionate at the hotel. One bystander
captured the interaction on their phone, three people briefed on the incident
said.
Mr.
Huang’s security workers witnessed the bystander with the phone and sequestered
the person, the people said. The workers then asked the person to sign a
nondisclosure agreement.
Mr. Huang
is among a long list of chief executives of American companies who have had
relationships with subordinates. Brian Krzanich resigned
in 2018 from Intel, the chip maker, after acknowledging a “past consensual relationship” with an employee.
The
following year, McDonald’s
removed Steve Easterbrook as its chief executive and later sued him after
learning he had violated corporate policies by maintaining sexual relationships
with multiple employees.
Ryan Mac is a Times reporter who
covers corporate accountability across the global technology industry.
Tripp Mickle reports for The
Times on some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Nvidia, Google
and Apple. He also writes about tech industry trends like layoffs and
artificial intelligence.
Georgia Gee is a news
researcher and runs The New York Times tips line.
