Jen-Hsun Huang admits extramarital affair, faces doubts over ties with Chinese spies

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) On Sunday (November 8), the official website of NVIDIA (also known as NVIDIA) released a letter from CEO Jensen Huang to employees. Huang Renxun admitted in the letter that he had cheated: "I was unfaithful to my wife. My behavior hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for my behavior. I am truly sorry."

In the letter, Huang Jenxun apologized to his family, as well as to his colleagues, employees, partners and shareholders around the world at Huida. "My responsibility is to serve you and not to betray your trust, but I failed to fulfill this responsibility. I am fully committed to Huida, and I will work hard to win back your confidence."

Huang did not mention who his affair partner was in the letter, but at the end of October, the New York Times quoted information as saying that Huang had a "close relationship" with a Chinese woman identified by the US government as a Chinese intelligence agent. Her name was Huang Le (transliteration), also known as Alice Huang.

After the report was released, Huang Renxun was interviewed by Bloomberg, claiming that his dealings with Huang Le were no different from those of him and other Chinese clients. "They are all completely normal and there is nothing abnormal."

However, the Financial Times further revealed in early November that US intelligence agencies believed that Huang Renxun and Huang Le had been in a relationship.

The New York Times pointed out that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the writing of a confidential memorandum this spring warning senior U.S. government officials that Jen-Hsun Huang was working closely with a Chinese spy. In addition, U.S. President Trump received a briefing a year ago and knew that intelligence agencies were monitoring Huang Le and that she had close contacts with an American citizen. Officials later learned the man was Huang, but Trump took no action.

Trump said on the 8th that he did not regret that he did not take action at the time, and spoke for Huang Renxun: "I think he is an upright man, and he should have a reason for doing what he did." Asked whether he would travel to Asia with Huang Renxun next week, Trump said: "I don't know, but he will definitely do it."

Rubio declined to comment to the media.

Huida's board of directors issued a statement on the 8th, announcing the launch of an independent investigation into "Huang Renxun reported to be the target of foreign intelligence operations" and emphasizing that the national and economic security of the United States is its priority. "The board currently has no reason to believe that any national security information or Huida secrets have been compromised, but the board's investigation will still review all available information."

Faced with questions about national security, Huang Jen-Hsun's apology letter wrote: "I love our country and our company, am committed to protecting Huida, and support the national security of the United States. As an American, I am very proud and grateful."

Who is Huang Le?

According to reports from the New York Times, Bloomberg and other media, the U.S. government began investigating Megaspeed, a company headquartered in Singapore, at the end of 2024, the end of Biden’s term, and suspected that it helped China circumvent the U.S. high-tech ban and obtain Huida’s advanced chips for Chinese companies. Huang Le is a senior executive at Megaspeed. The U.S. government has been electronically monitoring her for some time.

Huida is the leader in artificial intelligence (AI) chip research and development in the United States. In order to prevent China from using U.S. technology in military development, which is detrimental to U.S. security, the U.S. government has placed Huida’s advanced chips under export controls. However, in the past few years, there have been reports from the media that Chinese companies are still trying to obtain Huida’s high-end products through various informal channels.

Huida is at the center of the high-tech competition between the United States and China. Its founder, Jen-Hsun Huang, has frequent contacts with Trump and has also traveled with Trump on state visits to China, the United Kingdom and other places. This caused huge controversy in his relationship with Huang Le.

According to previously quoted media reports, Huang Le once posted multiple photos with Huang Renxun on his personal social media, and also showed off their relationship to investors to raise funds. A photo posted on LinkedIn in June 2024 showed that Huang Renxun and Huang Le attended the same gathering of technology industry executives at a bar in Taipei; in May of the following year, they were also seen walking out of a restaurant together after a business dinner for an artificial intelligence supplier in Taipei.

Before the extramarital affair was exposed, Huang had repeatedly publicly opposed strict export controls and advocated that the Chinese market was important. For example, in May last year, when Jen-Hsun Huang went to Taiwan to attend the Computer Show, he said that the United States' export controls on high-end AI chips not only caused Huida to lose huge business opportunities in China, but also prompted Chinese companies to seek Huawei products, while stimulating China to further invest in local R&D and manufacturing.

After a period of lobbying, Huida reached a profit-sharing agreement with the Trump administration last year: the U.S. Department of Commerce allowed Huida to export specific chips to China, but Huida must hand over a certain percentage of its profits to the U.S. government. This move has aroused doubts from China hawks in the US political circle, who believe that this may endanger US national security and lacks sufficient legal basis.

How has the response been?

U.S. lawmakers have questioned the relationship between Huang Renxun and Huang Le. On the 7th, Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who will become chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee next year, posted on the X platform: "The more I learn about the crazy relationship between the Trump administration, Chinese spies, and AI billionaires, the more convinced I am that everything this government does involves corruption. Congress will investigate this matter and find out the truth."

The current chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Republican Brian Mast, as well as the chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and China, John Moolenaar, and the chairman of the House Permanent Intelligence Committee Rick Crawford Crawford and others jointly sent a letter to Huang last Wednesday (4th), requesting him to attend the above-mentioned committee’s closed-door briefing on November 18, explain his relationship with Huang Le, and elaborate on what kind of security measures Huida has taken to deal with espionage operations by foreign hostile forces.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who like Jen-Hsun Huang is very active in investing in the Chinese market, also expressed his position. He forwarded and agreed with a netizen's post on the

Huang Le himself has not made a public statement or responded to media requests for comment.

The Chinese government has yet to respond to Huang’s confirmation of the extramarital affair. However, after the "New York Times" report was released at the end of October, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun once said that it was "purely based on rumors and slander against China."