The New York Times, cited by ZeroHedge, reports that Nvidia chief Jensen Huang had an extramarital relationship with an Nvidia executive who reports to him, according to five people who worked at the company and spoke to the Times. ZeroHedge does not present an official confirmation of that account.
The five people told the Times the executive is Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care. They said Huang, 63, and Powell, 48, are both married to other people and that the relationship has been discussed inside the company.
Two of the people told the Times the pair were caught on video being affectionate at a San Jose hotel in March, during Nvidia’s GTC developer conference. Three people briefed on the incident said a bystander filmed the moment and that Huang’s security offered that person a nondisclosure agreement. The Times says it has not seen the video.
When the Times reached Huang by phone on Wednesday and asked about Powell, he said he did not think the paper should be talking to him directly, then hung up. Nvidia declined to provide a statement.
In an update, ZeroHedge, citing the Wall Street Journal, said Nvidia is reportedly preparing to remove Huang. People familiar with the matter told that paper the board could meet as soon as today. ZeroHedge notes that no final decision or official announcement has been confirmed.
As ZeroHedge reported on Oct. 29, U.S. officials identified Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed and no relation to the CEO, as a Chinese intelligence asset after Huang grew close to her. Beijing has denied the espionage claims. On Nov. 8, in a memo to staff, Huang wrote, “I was unfaithful to my wife.” He added, “There is no excuse for what I did.”
That same day, Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation, which the Times says is being led by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The board said it had no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.
The Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, China Select and Intelligence committees have asked Huang for a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18 about his dealings with Alice Huang, and gave him until Nov. 11 to answer. Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast said he is prepared to subpoena Huang if he does not respond by Wednesday, the same day the Times report on Powell appeared.
