Huang's exit from Nvidia closes one chapter, but the espionage questions for Washington remain open

On Friday, Jensen Huang quit as chief executive of Nvidia, ending a long tenure at the head of the company and capping a week of mounting speculation about an alleged espionage plot against him. Colette Kress, the company's executive vice-president and chief financial officer, has stepped in as interim CEO. His departure closes one chapter, but the questions it leaves for Washington are still open.

The controversy centred on Mr Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, whom US intelligence reportedly suspects of being a Chinese spy. Claims then emerged that he had two further extra-marital affairs, both with Nvidia employees. His last public statement came on Sunday, local time, when he admitted being "unfaithful" to his wife of more than 40 years without naming anyone. He said he was "committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America's national security". He has not commented on the later claims.

Congress is not letting the matter rest. Senator Tim Scott repeated demands that Mr Huang appear, saying there were "serious concerns" to address. The chairs of three House committees, covering foreign affairs, the China select committee and intelligence, have written to Mr Huang and Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter requiring closed-door transcribed interviews on December 1 and 2. "There are clear national security concerns that need to be addressed immediately," they wrote. Neither man has commented publicly on the requests, though subpoenas could compel them to attend. Nvidia and Mr Huang also face a proposed class action accusing them of defrauding shareholders.

The administration is under scrutiny too. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been called to testify over concerns that he did not do enough to restrict AI chip shipments to China. In December 2025, Donald Trump allowed Nvidia to sell its advanced chips to China in exchange for a cut of the sales, after Mr Huang argued that restrictions only sped up Beijing's own AI development. That came despite concern from both sides of Congress. Mr Lutnick has also been criticised for the refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to a trade blacklist. Reuters reported in June that more than 100 other companies flagged as national security risks had been held off the list, which has not been added to since October 2025, the longest gap in more than a decade. Earlier reports said the Commerce Department feared escalating tensions with China. Under-Secretary Jeffrey Kessler is due to testify at a December 3 hearing. The department did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

For Mr Trump, the questions are about proximity and knowledge. Mr Huang had become a close ally and was one of the few people known to have a direct line to the president. He has visited the White House at least five times in the second term, sits on a council advising the president on science and technology, and went with Mr Trump to Beijing in May. The Washington Post reported in mid-October that Nvidia committed $US25 million ($36.7 million) to Mr Trump's contentious White House ballroom project, and the president disclosed buying and selling Nvidia stock earlier this year. The New York Times reported that Mr Trump was briefed on intelligence findings about a suspected espionage effort against Mr Huang about a year ago and took no action. Asked recently whether he wished he had acted sooner, he said "I don't think so" and called Mr Huang an "honourable guy". He has said Mr Huang told him he had no idea Ms Huang was a spy, and that he believed him.

Nvidia itself has sent mixed signals. On the day Mr Huang admitted the affair, the company announced an independent investigation into whether he had been the "target of a foreign intelligence effort", while saying early on it had "no reason to believe" national security or company secrets had been compromised. The investigation went unmentioned when Ms Kress's appointment was announced. New chair Harvey C Jones said instead: "We expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption." It is not yet known whether the investigation will find that Mr Huang gave away sensitive information, or whether its findings will be made public.

Alice Huang has been identified as a former executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed and has not commented publicly. China has denied she is a spy. US Attorney-General Todd Blanche said Thursday the Justice Department had not concluded whether she is one. Last year Megaspeed was accused of illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia chips into China; in December it said there was "no evidence" of such exports. Singaporean authorities say they questioned Ms Huang and confiscated her passport last year during an investigation into Megaspeed's exports. They found insufficient evidence of a crime but suspected she gave "inaccurate information" to downplay her role. She left Singapore in February when her passport was returned and was banned from re-entering. Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter, reports she now lives in Beijing with security officials' knowledge. Singapore's home affairs ministry says investigations into Megaspeed and six individuals continue. Megaspeed said Thursday it takes US export control obligations "extremely seriously" and cooperated with US inspections.

What to watch now is whether Nvidia's independent investigation is ever published, and whether subpoenas follow if the December 1 to 3 appearances do not go ahead.