Nvidia CEO Huang faces new affair allegation involving direct report as separate espionage scandal deepens
Jensen Huang stands accused of a second extramarital relationship, this time with a company vice president who reported to him, amid an ongoing investigation into his admitted affair with a woman U.S. intelligence suspects of Chinese espionage.
Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang is now at the center of a second scandal involving an extramarital relationship, according to reporting by the New York Times. The fresh allegations come as Huang already faces scrutiny over a separate affair with a woman believed by U.S. intelligence agencies to have ties to Chinese espionage.
According to the Times, which cited five people with knowledge of the matter inside Nvidia, Huang engaged in a relationship with Kimberly Powell, the company's vice president of health care. The sources indicated that Huang and Powell were "captured on video being affectionate" during March at a San Jose hotel where Nvidia held its GTC conference.
The report indicates that a hotel guest recorded the interaction on a mobile device, but that Huang's security personnel subsequently "sequestered" the individual and "made the person an offer to sign a nondisclosure agreement."
Powell has worked at Nvidia since 2008 and has received multiple promotions throughout her tenure. The Times notes that Nvidia's code of conduct identifies personal relationships as a potential source of conflicts of interest. Both Huang and Powell are married to other people. In 2018, then-Intel CEO Brian Krzanich stepped down following a relationship with an employee that similarly violated company policy. Nvidia declined to comment when reached by Tom's Hardware, and this article will be updated if the company responds.
The earlier espionage scandal
Earlier in the week, reports emerged that Huang had carried on an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a former senior executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed who is suspected by U.S. intelligence of conducting espionage. Huang acknowledged the relationship in a message sent to Nvidia's workforce. The Chinese government has rejected espionage allegations.
The company's board has commissioned an investigation into the Alice Huang affair, with the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz overseeing the inquiry. Huang remains in his position as chief executive while the investigation continues. Multiple law firms have begun pursuing litigation against Nvidia on behalf of shareholders, including a potential class-action suit alleging that Nvidia withheld material information from investors regarding the business.
Congressional and national security implications
The House committee focused on China has requested that Huang participate in a private hearing. Republican members of Congress have stated that the disclosures "raise significant national security concerns."
Huang has emerged as a prominent figure in artificial intelligence, controlling the supply of the most coveted processors in the sector. He has maintained close ties with President Donald Trump, accompanying him on travel and seeking to shape U.S. export control policy. Trump indicated to the press that the FBI was examining Huang's conduct, though he also stated that the Nvidia executive "had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy."