Nvidia Board Hires Ex-Federal Prosecutor to Investigate Jensen Huang as Congress Prepares Subpoena and Reports Say CEO’s Future Is in Doubt

Nvidia’s board has hired a former acting US Attorney to lead its independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a woman US intelligence reportedly assessed as a Chinese agent, while Congress prepares to subpoena him and reports say the board is weighing whether to remove him. No criminal charges against Huang or the woman have been reported, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

On Tuesday, the board hired Joon H. Kim, former acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to conduct the independent investigation, The Hill reported. The board announced the inquiry on Sunday, after Huang admitted in a memo to employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, oversees the review. The board has said it has “confidence in Jensen and his leadership team” and “no reason to believe” that national security or Nvidia’s secrets were compromised, though it said the inquiry will examine all available information.

Alice Huang is a Chinese citizen and a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based technology company and Nvidia customer, according to CNBC. US intelligence reportedly assessed that China’s Ministry of State Security recruited her to gather information on Huang. Megaspeed has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies acquire Nvidia’s AI chips, CNBC reported. The two are not related. Nvidia has said Huang’s interactions with her were ordinary customer contacts and that no sensitive trade secrets or national-security information were shared. The company told The Hill that Megaspeed was a regional customer and that claims against Alice Huang were “debunked” last year. Those statements come from the company, and the government has not publicly released its evidence.

Pressure on Huang has grown on both sides of the aisle in Congress. Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said Congress is preparing to issue a subpoena requiring Huang to testify, according to BigGo Finance. Moolenaar, Brian Mast and Rick Crawford, all Republicans, had earlier asked Huang to testify on November 18 in a closed-door briefing on the company’s security protocols and his “interactions” with Alice Huang. They said it is vital that Congress determines the extent to which US national security was put at risk.

Democrats are pressing as well, partly over what the Trump administration knew. Senator Chris Coons, who is in line to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on X that “Congress will investigate and get answers,” and told The Hill that a probe into what the president knew is “central.” Representative Seth Magaziner asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify alongside Huang. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for an investigation, describing the episode as a “tremendous national security and intelligence breach,” according to Fox News. Former Justice Department official John Yoo urged Congress to question Huang publicly about whether the relationship influenced his push to ease US export restrictions on chips for China, and former FBI agent Tracy Walder said Huang “should have known better.”

Also Read: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Admits Affair With Woman US Officials Reportedly Say Was a Chinese Spy; Board Opens Investigation

President Donald Trump’s position has also shifted. He initially defended Huang, calling him an honorable man, but has since confirmed that the FBI is looking into the matter, according to Fox News and BigGo. Asked by reporters whether he wished he had acted on intelligence about Alice Huang, Trump said, “no, I don’t think so,” NBC News reported.

The most consequential, and least verified, development concerns the board. BigGo Finance, summarising a Wall Street Journal report, said Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove Huang and could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide. The same summary said Huang was further reported to have had a relationship with another senior executive who reported directly to him. Nvidia has not confirmed either claim, and they conflict with the board’s public statement of confidence on Sunday. An investor close to Huang told CNBC that, depending on what the inquiry finds, he could foresee Huang taking a leave of absence. Huang is not board chairman. He is one of 11 directors, and the board has no designated chair, which may complicate how any decision is made.

Shareholders have also sued Nvidia and Huang over disclosures tied to the relationship, Fox News reported, in a case that adds financial risk to the investigations. Huang, 63, a Taiwan-US dual national, co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it since, building a net worth above $150 billion, CNBC reported. The company’s shares fell about 4.3 percent after the scandal broke, erasing nearly $200 billion in market value, Bloomberg reported.

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Several central questions remain unanswered. It is not public what, if anything, Huang shared with Alice Huang, what US officials knew and when, or whether any chip sales were influenced. The board’s investigation has no announced timeline. Whether Huang will testify on November 18, comply with a subpoena or take a leave from the company is also unclear.

For Nvidia, which supplies the chips that power much of the AI industry, the stakes extend beyond one executive. Investors, regulators and rivals are watching three things: the findings of Kim’s investigation, the board’s decision on Huang, and whether Congress turns the case into a broader review of chip export policy. Until those developments arrive, the company’s message of continuity sits alongside a growing list of investigations, and a leadership question that its board has not publicly answered.