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Nvidia board hires Wachtell’s Joon Kim for review of reports Jensen Huang was a foreign intelligence target

Huang has admitted in a staff letter that he was unfaithful to his wife. US officials, as reported by The New York Times and the Financial Times, assessed that a Megaspeed-linked executive was a Chinese intelligence asset. China denies it. Shares fell for a second session. Here is what is confirmed, what is alleged and what comes next.

By Cole Harlan · 10 Nov 2026 · 18 min

Cowry Tech News text card: AI / Business: Nvidia board review: what is confirmed, what is alleged
Cowry Tech News

Contributors: Ellis Brogan (markets reporting), Kwesi Addo (policy reporting), Arjun Mehta (trust read).

Nvidia’s independent directors have hired Joon H. Kim of the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Kim will run the review the board opened on Sunday. The company announced the hire on its newsroom on Tuesday.

The board’s review concerns reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang “has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” That is the board’s wording. Nvidia has not said Huang is under investigation, and no US agency has said so on the record.

The same day the board opened its review, Huang sent a letter to staff. “I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote. The letter, posted on Nvidia’s newsroom, does not name the woman.

NVDA closed down 4.27% on Monday and closed Tuesday at $168.89, down 5.47%.

What we know, what is alleged, what is denied

Confirmed (primary documents or two independent outlets)

  • Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation on November 8. A committee of independent directors, with outside counsel, oversees it. The board says it has “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.” (Nvidia board statement)
  • On November 10, the independent directors named Kim and Wachtell. (Nvidia; CNBC)
  • Huang wrote that he “was unfaithful to my wife.” He did not name anyone, and he did not address the intelligence claims beyond saying he supports the investigation. (Nvidia)
  • Three House Republican chairs asked Huang, in a letter dated November 4, to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18 and to reply by November 11. (House letter)
  • Nvidia had filed no 8-K about the review as of 6:04 PM ET Tuesday. The last 8-K on file is dated September 3. (SEC EDGAR)

Alleged (reported, attributed, unproven)

  • A US intelligence memo, as reported by the Times and the FT, assessed that a Megaspeed-linked executive, named below, was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to gather information on Huang. Both outlets cite anonymous officials. Reuters and NPR said they could not confirm the Times’s intelligence claims.
  • No outlet in our file reports charges against her or against Huang.

Denied

  • China’s Foreign Ministry, in its official English transcript on November 9: “The ‘Chinese spy’ allegation is purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China.” It repeated the line on Tuesday. (MFA, Nov 9; MFA, Nov 10)
  • Nvidia says the earlier chip-diversion allegations against the regional cloud customer “were thoroughly investigated and debunked last year.” (CNBC; BBC) Singapore says its investigation of Megaspeed is still “ongoing.” (MHA)

Who the reports name

The Times and the FT named the woman as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le. The FT, reporting on November 6, was first to report that a US government memo said Jensen Huang “had been romantically involved” with her. The Times had described a “close relationship.” AP, CNBC and NBC describe her as a Chinese citizen. China’s Foreign Ministry declined on Tuesday to confirm her citizenship or whereabouts. Reuters, BBC and NBC report that she is not related to Jensen Huang.

Her role is reported inconsistently. The House letter, the FT and CNBC call her a Megaspeed executive. Business Insider and CNBC have also called her a former executive. BBC reports she was a top executive from March to November 2023. Reuters, citing the research group C4ADS, reports she was Megaspeed’s controlling shareholder from March 2023 and a director of an Indonesian subsidiary until November 2023. Reuters said it could not verify her current employment status. Her location is not known, according to Reuters and BBC. She has not commented publicly. Photos of the two at industry events have been published. CTN is not running them.

Timeline (all times ET)

  • Oct 9, 2025. The Times reports Commerce is examining whether Singapore-based Megaspeed helped Chinese customers obtain restricted Nvidia chips. Nvidia said it had “no reason to believe” products were diverted. Singapore police tell CNBC that investigations into Megaspeed are ongoing.
  • Thu, Oct 29, 2026, by late morning. The Times reports US officials concluded Huang was the target of a Chinese intelligence operation. CNBC publishes Nvidia’s response at 11:59 AM. Spokesperson John Rizzo: “Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected.”
  • Fri, Oct 30. China’s Foreign Ministry: “Relevant report is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China.” The Wall Street Journal publishes a report on the executive. NVDA closes down 4.22%.
  • Sat, Oct 31. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs says “there were no such investigations conducted in respect of Alice Huang,” rejecting the WSJ’s account. It says the Megaspeed investigation is ongoing.
  • Wed, Nov 4. Chairs Mast, Moolenaar and Crawford sign their letter asking for a November 18 briefing.
  • Thu, Nov 5. The committees publish the letter. NVDA falls 9.26% during a broad tech sell-off. No outlet we reviewed ties that drop to the Huang reports.
  • Fri, Nov 6. The FT reports a US government memo said Huang “had been romantically involved” with the executive. NVDA closes at $186.64.
  • Sun, Nov 8. Nvidia posts the board statement and Huang’s staff letter. A spokesperson tells CNBC Huang is “committed to continuing as CEO of Nvidia without interruption.” CNBC’s story runs at 3:12 PM.
  • Mon, Nov 9. China restates its denial. Rosen Law Firm files a proposed class action. TechCrunch reports at 3:09 PM that Huang withdrew from the ElevenLabs Summit, which ElevenLabs confirmed. NVDA closes at $178.67, down 4.27%.
  • Tue, Nov 10. China restates its denial again. The independent directors name Kim and Wachtell; CNBC reports it at 2:19 PM. NVDA closes at $168.89, down 5.47%. EDGAR shows no 8-K as of 6:04 PM.

The board review

The board statement is six sentences. It does not mention a relationship. It says the committee will “examine all available information.” It says Huang “fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it.” It ends: “The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate.”

Tuesday’s statement adds one detail. Kim and Wachtell will “conduct a thorough and independent investigation as was announced on Sunday.”

Nvidia has not named the directors on the committee. CNBC reports the board has 10 independent members. Nvidia’s 2026 proxy lists Stephen C. Neal as Lead Director. CNBC called Neal a “likely key figure.” That is CNBC’s assessment, not a company disclosure.

Nvidia has not said how long the review will take or whether findings will be published. Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives & Co. estimated four to six weeks in a note quoted by CNBC. That is an analyst estimate, not company guidance.

Huang’s position

Huang has said little beyond his letter. In it he wrote that colleagues “deserve better from me” and that he had “fallen short of that responsibility.” On the national security reports, he wrote: “I support the investigation and will cooperate fully.” He asked for privacy for his family. “My family bears no responsibility for my choices. I do,” he wrote. CTN is not reporting further on his family.

Before the letter, Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo told CNBC that “Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected.” Nvidia also said in October that regional cloud customers receive “ordinary business information, not sensitive NVIDIA trade secrets, and zero information relevant to national security.” (TechCrunch; BBC)

He has pulled back from at least one public date. ElevenLabs confirmed to TechCrunch that he withdrew from its New York summit. TechCrunch also reported he dropped out of an Anthropic CEO forum. That second item is single-source and not confirmed by Anthropic.

President Trump has spoken twice. On Sunday night he called Huang “an honourable guy,” according to BBC. Asked whether he wished he had acted on earlier intelligence, he said, “No, I don’t think so.” The Times has reported that Trump was briefed on the intelligence about a year ago.

On Monday, Trump said he had spoken to Huang that day. Huang told him he “had no idea she was a spy,” Trump said, adding, “I really believe him.” Trump also said, “I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else.” The FBI declined to comment to BBC. No agency has confirmed any inquiry into Huang.

Governance and key-person risk

Nvidia has no board chair. It uses an independent Lead Director, according to its 2026 proxy. Huang has been a director since 1993.

Nvidia’s latest 10-K, filed February 25, flags dependence on its leaders in general terms. “We are highly dependent on the services of our longstanding executive team,” it says. “Failure to ensure effective succession planning, transfer of knowledge, and smooth transitions involving executives and key employees could hinder our strategic planning, execution, and long-term success.” The risk factor does not name Huang. (10-K)

Nvidia has not publicly disclosed a CEO succession plan. A search of the 2026 proxy finds no succession passage. That does not prove no plan exists.

The August 10-Q addresses diversion risk. “Reports of diversion of controlled products, even when unsubstantiated and untrue, or any compliance failure at a customer or partner, may negatively impact our business, relationships with partners and customers, and our reputation,” it says. (10-Q)

A shareholder suit has followed. Rosen Law Firm filed a proposed securities class action on November 9 in federal court in San Jose against Nvidia and Huang. It alleges misleading statements about the relationship and about Nvidia’s ties to Megaspeed, for buyers from October 9, 2025, to November 8, 2026. These are allegations in a complaint. No court has ruled. (CNBC; BBC; complaint)

Congress and export controls

Policy reporting by Kwesi Addo.

The House letter is signed by Brian J. Mast (R-Fla.), chair of Foreign Affairs; John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the Select Committee on the CCP; and Eric A. “Rick” Crawford (R-Ark.), chair of the Intelligence Committee. It asks Huang to appear in Rayburn 2172 on November 18 for a “joint, closed-door briefing on NVIDIA’s security protocols against foreign adversary espionage” and his interactions with what the letter calls “a publicly reported People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence asset.” The phrase “publicly reported” is the chairs’ own. The letter rests on press reports.

“It is vital that Congress determines the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk,” the chairs wrote. They asked Huang to accept the date, or offer another session day, by November 11.

A closed-door briefing is not a public hearing. The letter is a request, not a subpoena. Nvidia has not said publicly whether Huang will attend.

The export rules sit with the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. Since October 2022, BIS has required licenses for advanced computing chips bound for China. A January 2026 rule moved some chips, including Nvidia’s H200, to case-by-case review for Chinese end users, with screening and testing conditions. Other advanced shipments to China-headquartered entities still face a presumption of denial.

“Diversion” is shorthand. It means moving a controlled chip to a destination, user or use that needed a license and did not have one. Willful violations of the Export Control Reform Act can carry criminal penalties of up to $1 million per violation and up to 20 years in prison for individuals (50 U.S.C. 4819). None of that is a finding about Megaspeed.

The US track on Megaspeed is reported, not confirmed. The New York Times reported that a Commerce inquiry into Megaspeed was transferred to the Justice Department and is now a criminal inquiry. NBC News separately reported that the Justice Department asked Commerce to pause its part of an investigation. Neither department has confirmed. The reported inquiry concerns Megaspeed, not Huang.

Singapore’s track is official. Singapore police told CNBC in October 2025 that investigations into Megaspeed were ongoing, and the Ministry of Home Affairs said in its October 31 statement that the Megaspeed investigation is ongoing. The WSJ reported on October 30 that Singapore officials had concerns about the executive. The Ministry of Home Affairs rejected that the next day: “Neither the Singapore Government nor its officials said this. And there were no such investigations conducted in respect of Alice Huang.” MHA added that Singapore “does not implement unilateral export controls imposed by foreign jurisdictions,” but “does not condone businesses deliberately using their association with Singapore to circumvent or violate other countries’ export controls.”

Nvidia’s position is that the earlier diversion claims were “debunked.” Singapore says its Megaspeed probe is still open. Both statements stand on the record.

Two dollar figures circulate, with different scopes. AP, as cited by Axios, reported that Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over about two years. The Information reported on Tuesday that a wider network of companies bought $7.5 billion of Nvidia chips, “including banned chips.” That figure is single-source. CTN has not verified either figure. Nvidia has confirmed neither.

China is a smaller share of Nvidia’s sales than it once was. China, including Hong Kong, was $7.88 billion of $96.22 billion in revenue in the quarter ended July 26, about 8.2%, according to the 10-Q.

The stock

Markets reporting by Ellis Brogan.

Session NVDA Change Volume
Fri, Nov 6 (close) $186.64 +2.78% 180.2M
Mon, Nov 9 (close) $178.67 -4.27% (-$7.97) 462.7M
Tue, Nov 10 (close) $168.89 -5.47% (-$9.78) 425.0M

Source: Yahoo Finance daily data, pulled 6:04 PM ET Nov 10. Tuesday’s close of $168.89, down $9.78 or 5.47%, cross-checked with CNBC and MarketWatch. Volume is Yahoo’s 424,954,776 (shown as 425.0M); MarketWatch listed 425.2M. Monday’s close was earlier cross-checked with CNBC.

Monday’s move came while peers rose. AMD gained 13.26% and Broadcom 8.78%, CNBC reported. CNA reported Nvidia was the only decliner in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index that day. Monday’s volume was about 2.6 times Friday’s.

Analysts have trimmed targets but kept ratings.

  • Mizuho cut its price target to $250 from $315 and kept Outperform on November 9. (Investing.com; TipRanks/TheFly)
  • Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon kept Outperform. “Jensen is NVIDIA, NVIDIA is Jensen,” he said. (Axios; Benzinga)
  • Yorkville Ives & Co.’s Dan Ives called it a “black eye moment.” In a note quoted by CNBC, he wrote that “Street and investor chatter” put the chance Huang is removed at about 15%. That is his reading of investor talk. It is not a CTN estimate. (CNBC; Yahoo/CBS)

What to watch

  • Nov 11: the House chairs’ reply deadline.
  • Nov 17: Nvidia reports third-quarter fiscal 2027 results, with written CFO commentary at about 4:20 PM ET and a call at 5 PM ET. Confirmed on Nvidia’s investor site.
  • Nov 18: the requested closed-door briefing.
  • Any 8-K or new risk-factor language on the review.

Questions readers and major outlets are asking

These come from explainer coverage at Axios, AFP, BBC, Reuters and AP, and from X post volume. Posts mentioning the executive with Nvidia or Jensen rose from 1,350 on November 7 to 17,919 on November 9 (UTC), per X’s post-count tool. CTN has no search-volume data.

Who is Alice Huang?

A businesswoman linked to Singapore-based Megaspeed, named by the Times and the FT. AP, CNBC and NBC describe her as a Chinese citizen. Her title is reported inconsistently, from current executive to former executive and shareholder. She is not related to Jensen Huang. Her whereabouts are not known.

Is Jensen Huang under investigation?

Nvidia’s board has opened what Huang calls an independent investigation into the national security concerns raised in news reports, and he says he will “cooperate fully.” No government agency has said on the record that it is investigating Huang. Trump said the FBI is “looking into it in terms of something else.” The FBI declined to comment. The New York Times reported that a Commerce inquiry into Megaspeed was transferred to the Justice Department; neither department has confirmed it. That inquiry concerns Megaspeed, not Huang.

Did Huang admit to an affair?

He wrote that he “was unfaithful to my wife.” He did not name anyone. On the national security reports, he wrote: “I support the investigation and will cooperate fully.”

Is she a Chinese spy?

That is a US intelligence assessment reported by the Times and the FT through anonymous officials. Reuters and NPR could not confirm it. There are no charges. China calls it “purely unsubstantiated.”

Was anything compromised?

Not known. The board says it has “no reason to believe” national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised. Its review is not finished.

Will Huang step down?

He has not. Nvidia says he will lead “without interruption.” The board says it has confidence in him. The outcome of the review is not known.

What happens to the stock?

CTN does not forecast prices. Shares fell 4.27% Monday and 5.47% Tuesday, closing at $168.89, about 9.5% below Friday’s close. The dates to watch are November 11, November 17 and November 18, plus any 8-K.

Did Singapore question her?

The WSJ reported Singapore officials had concerns. Singapore’s MHA said “there were no such investigations conducted in respect of Alice Huang.” It says the Megaspeed probe is ongoing.

Did Megaspeed move banned chips to China?

There is no public finding. Nvidia calls earlier diversion claims “debunked.” Singapore’s Megaspeed investigation is ongoing. The Times reports a US criminal inquiry into the company.

Will Huang brief Congress?

He has been asked to attend on November 18. Nvidia has not said whether he will.

Is Nvidia being sued?

Yes. Rosen Law Firm filed a proposed class action on November 9. Its claims are allegations only.

Cowry Tech News asked Nvidia, Megaspeed and the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment between 3:08 and 3:10 PM ET on Tuesday, with a 5 PM ET deadline. In response to CTN’s questions, an Nvidia spokesperson referred CTN to the company’s Sunday statement: “This news will not slow NVIDIA. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption.” The statement does not say whether a change in Huang’s role has been ruled out. Nvidia did not address questions about Singapore’s ongoing Megaspeed investigation. Megaspeed and the Chinese Embassy had not responded by the 5 PM ET deadline.

CTN could not identify a representative for Alice Huang.

Disclosure: CTN has no commercial relationship with Nvidia.

Sources

Primary

Reporting