In short
- Jensen Huang quit as Nvidia’s chief executive on Thursday, the day Senator Tim Scott sent him a letter summoning him to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on 3 December.
- Nvidia lost $550bn (£415bn) in stock market value in five days, the most significant five-day drop since the company went public 27 years earlier.
- Senator Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, also summoned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to appear before the Senate Banking Committee in December.
- Alice Huang, an executive at the Singaporean firm Megaspeed, has been suspected of being an intelligence asset for China, according to the New York Times; China rejected the allegation as a smear.
- Nvidia named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO on Thursday as it searches for a permanent replacement for Huang.
Jensen Huang, who quit as Nvidia’s chief executive on Thursday, has been summoned to testify before a US Senate committee on 3 December about his alleged affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. Huang admitted on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
Who has summoned Jensen Huang?
Senator Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, sent letters on Thursday to Jensen Huang and to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick asking them to appear before the Senate Banking Committee in December. Scott asked Huang to appear voluntarily on 3 December but warned the panel could issue a subpoena to compel his testimony. “Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology,” Scott posted on X. “The American people deserve answers,” he added.
Three House of Representatives committees — on intelligence, on foreign affairs and a panel on China — have also sent Huang a letter summoning him for a closed-door interview on 1 December. The demands add to a stretch of congressional scrutiny of the administration, during which the US House blocked, for now, a bid to impeach Hegseth over the Iran war.
Howard Lutnick is under scrutiny because unnamed officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have been briefing US media that the commerce secretary stalled efforts to tighten export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China. A commerce department spokesperson told US media that Lutnick had “proactively” agreed to appear before the Senate Banking Committee.
How much market value has Nvidia lost?
Nvidia has lost $550bn (£415bn) in stock market value in five days, the most significant five-day drop since the company went public 27 years ago. The chipmaker’s market value had risen by more than 470% over the previous five years and peaked a few weeks ago; it is now down 31% amid wider uncertainty in the tech sector.
Who is Alice Huang?
Alice Huang, who is no relation to Jensen Huang, worked as an executive at the Singaporean firm Megaspeed and has been suspected of being an intelligence asset for China, according to the New York Times. China has rejected that allegation as a smear, and US Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday that the Department of Justice had not yet drawn any conclusions about whether she was engaged in espionage for Beijing. President Donald Trump said the FBI was investigating the Nvidia chief’s affair with an alleged spy.
What else has been reported about Huang’s relationships?
Jensen Huang said on Sunday that he had been “unfaithful” to his wife after reports of the first relationship. On Wednesday he was reported to have had a second relationship, with Kimberly Powell, a long-time Nvidia executive who reported directly to him; sources told the BBC that Nvidia employees had noticed the pair were unusually close. Huang has been married to Lori Huang for 40 years, and both of their children are also Nvidia executives.
Who is running Nvidia now?
Nvidia has said it has “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised” and pledged that its independent inquiry would look at all available information. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was named interim CEO on Thursday as the company hunts a permanent replacement for Huang, who had been Nvidia’s public face since 1993. Nvidia officials and a personal representative of Huang have declined to comment.
Frequently asked questions
Why has Jensen Huang been summoned to testify before Congress?
Senator Tim Scott said recent reports raised serious concerns about US national security and the protection of sensitive technology. Huang is due to appear voluntarily before the Senate Banking Committee on 3 December, and three House committees have called him for a closed-door interview on 1 December.
How much has Nvidia lost in market value?
Nvidia lost $550bn (£415bn) in stock market value in five days, its most significant five-day drop since it went public 27 years earlier. The company’s market value is now down 31% amid wider uncertainty in the tech sector.
Who is Alice Huang?
Alice Huang, who is no relation to Jensen Huang, was an executive at the Singaporean firm Megaspeed and has been suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset, according to the New York Times. China has rejected the allegation as a smear.
Who is Nvidia’s CEO now?
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was named interim CEO on Thursday while Nvidia searches for a permanent replacement for Jensen Huang.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)