Jensen Huang, the co-founder and former chief executive of Nvidia, has been called to testify before the US Senate Banking Committee in December over an affair with a woman suspected by US intelligence of being a Chinese spy.
Republican Senator Tim Scott, who chairs the committee, made the request on Thursday, according to RTE.ie, and has also asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to appear. The summons follows Huang's abrupt resignation on Sunday after admitting the extramarital relationship, a departure that has wiped almost half a trillion dollars off Nvidia's market valuation.
A scandal with consequences far beyond Silicon Valley
The affair in question was reportedly with Alice Huang, a former senior executive at Megaspeed, a data centre company based in Singapore. The two are not related. US intelligence circulated a memo this spring alleging she was an asset of China's Ministry of State Security, an accusation Beijing has firmly rejected.
The New York Times reported a second affair on Wednesday, citing video of Huang with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care.
For ordinary workers and pension holders, the numbers matter. Nvidia's chips, once designed for video game graphics, became central to the artificial intelligence boom that followed the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. A company that size does not collapse quietly; its losses ripple through pension funds and markets that touch every household.
Political pressure builds in Washington
Scott wrote on X that recent reports raise serious concerns about national security and the protection of sensitive US technology. The Senate request joins a demand from three House committees for a closed-door interview with Huang on 1 December, backed by the threat of a subpoena.
According to CNN, Scott sent letters on Thursday requesting that Huang and Lutnick voluntarily testify before the committee on 3 December.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has since agreed to testify, NBC News reported, as bipartisan pressure grows over the expanding scandal.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is among those demanding answers about what the Trump administration knew and when. The timing is awkward for the White House: President Donald Trump travels to China shortly for a summit, and the questions will follow him there.
What did the Commerce Department know?
Reports allege the Commerce Department under Lutnick may have failed to act on suspicions that Megaspeed was helping reroute restricted Nvidia technology to China. If true, that is not a private indiscretion; that is a possible breach of export controls designed to keep advanced technology out of rival hands.
Singapore's home ministry said it barred Alice Huang, a Chinese national, from re-entering the country in February for giving investigators inaccurate information about her role at Megaspeed, though she was not investigated for espionage. The ministry added that it repeatedly sought information from the US Justice Department and the FBI during its probe but received limited assistance, a detail that will not comfort anyone who believes intelligence sharing between allies should actually work.
Trump stands by his man, sort of
Huang was a close informal adviser to Trump on AI and spent years lobbying against curbs on chip sales to China. Trump initially stood by him but hedged when asked whether he should have stepped down.
“If the woman was a spy, yes. If the woman was not a spy, perhaps it would be different,” Trump said in an interview.
He added that he had spoken to Huang and that he was going through hell, feeling worst for his wife Lori, to whom he has been married for more than 40 years, and his family.
Trump has since suggested former Apple boss Tim Cook should take over the company.
“A Legend replaces a Legend!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Who is running Nvidia now?
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013 after nearly 25 years at companies including Cisco and Microsoft, is serving as interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor. Harvey Jones, a former chief executive of chip design software firm Synopsys, has been named chair.
The board said it expected operations and the product roadmap to continue without interruption. Huang, who spent 33 years at the helm and remains the company's largest individual shareholder with a stake of about 3.6%, gave up his board seat without the company giving an official reason for his departure.
Dan Ives of investment bank Yorkville Ives called it a dark day for Nvidia and the US tech industry, but said the board had done what it needed: rip off the band-aid and take Nvidia into its next chapter without him.
Why the US China rivalry hangs over this case
At the heart of the spy allegations sits the race between the United States and China for supremacy in an industry widely seen as the next industrial revolution. Huang built Nvidia into the company powering that race, and his personal conduct has now handed Beijing a propaganda gift and Washington a security headache.
The December hearings will test whether American oversight of its most valuable technologies is worth anything at all when powerful men and powerful money are involved.
FAQ
When will Jensen Huang testify before the Senate?
Senator Tim Scott has requested that Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appear before the Senate Banking Committee on 3 December, according to CNN.
Why did Jensen Huang resign from Nvidia?
Huang admitted an affair with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive whom US intelligence reportedly suspects of being a Chinese spy. The New York Times later reported a second affair.
Who is running Nvidia after Huang's departure?
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is interim chief executive, and Harvey Jones, former chief executive of Synopsys, has been named board chair.
How much has Nvidia lost in market value?
The scandal has wiped almost half a trillion dollars off Nvidia's market valuation, according to RTE.ie.