Five people who worked at Nvidia, speaking anonymously, said Jensen Huang, 63, had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, 48, who reports to him as vice president of health care. They said the relationship has been discussed inside the company.
Two of those people said video shows Huang and Powell being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March, though The New York Times has not viewed that video. According to three people who were briefed on what happened, a passerby filmed the exchange on a cellphone, after which Huang's security team spotted it, isolated the individual, and presented a nondisclosure agreement. When contacted by phone on Wednesday and questioned about Powell, Huang replied, "I don't think you should be talking to me directly," and then ended the call.
Nvidia said it would not comment, and Powell did not immediately respond. Both are married.
Last month, reports stated that U.S. officials had characterized a Chinese executive close to Huang as an intelligence asset for China. After Huang acknowledged the affair this month, Nvidia's board opened an investigation run by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Leaders in the Republican Party who chair three powerful House committees also requested that Huang give a confidential briefing about his dealings with the woman, who uses the name Alice Huang.
China has rejected the espionage allegations, and the executive has not replied to requests for comment. Nvidia's shares dropped roughly 8 percent in after-hours trading.
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Nvidia's code of conduct tells employees to "avoid situations where our actions create conflict" including "personal relationships," and says the company "promptly investigates reports of misconduct." Many corporations bar managers from relationships with subordinates. Precedent exists: in 2018, Intel's Brian Krzanich resigned after acknowledging a "past consensual relationship" with an employee, and in 2019 McDonald's removed Steve Easterbrook and later sued him after concluding he violated company policies by engaging in sexual relationships with multiple employees.
Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 and, according to the company's website, oversees programs applying its chips to higher education and health care, especially medical imaging devices. Her LinkedIn indicates that in 2016 she advanced to the role of senior director for artificial intelligence business development, and by late 2017 she had been named vice president of health care. She travels to major technology conferences and speaks on Nvidia's behalf.
At GTC in March in San Jose, Powell discussed using A.I. to aid breakthroughs in health care and biology, incorporating cartoon depictions of Huang in her presentation. During the conference, Nvidia executives held meetings at a nearby hotel, where Huang and Powell were seen being affectionate, according to people briefed on the incident.
Nvidia is juggling a law firm-led review tied to a China-linked affair, interest from House Republicans, and internal conduct questions, even as it remains central to the A.I. buildout. The roughly 8 percent after-hours drop is a reminder that governance headlines can jolt even market leaders. Investors will track the investigation's findings and any congressional developments alongside the company's fundamentals.
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