Portrait Jensen Huang: The master of AI and his male drive

There are still posts on social media with the question expressing admiration as to how Jensen Huang, unlike almost all prominent tech bros, managed to still be happily married to the same woman after over 40 years. Nvidia boss Huang finally admitted on Sunday that this is only half the truth.

In a statement to employees of the billion-dollar chip company Nvidia, which he co-founded and has since led, the 63-year-old admitted to an affair: “I was unfaithful to my wife.” His behavior "hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for my actions," according to an agency report.

What is normally a private matter is, in the Huang case, explosive on a global scale. The US secret service has identified her lover, a manager at the Singapore tech company Megaspeed, as a suspected Chinese spy. She is said to have deliberately built a relationship with Huang. And Megaspeed is suspected of diverting sophisticated AI chips to China in violation of US sanctions.

Huang initially denied the affair after the New York Times expressed suspicions at the end of October. He spoke of “usual customer contact”. It is still unclear whether insights gained through artificial intelligence led to his confession or classic human research. In any case, the cause is not human intelligence, but male stupidity. Nvidia has now launched an investigation.

Nvidia has become one of the most valuable companies in the world as a result of the AI ​​boom. It is at the center of the struggle between the US and China for technology supremacy, in which Washington has imposed export restrictions on the most advanced chips. The tech billionaire Huang, who usually wears a trademark black leather jacket recommended to him by his wife, is one of the most high-profile AI propagandists. As such, he also recently took part in the German Chancellor's AI summit.

Politically, Huang speaks out against export restrictions on chips to China. They would only contribute to Beijing's even greater efforts to develop the technology itself, which could jeopardize the US's leading role. He also agrees with President Donald Trump, whom he accompanied on his last trip to China, in rejecting regulation of the AI ​​industry. Because this could also lead to advantages for China.

Trump now downplayed the alleged espionage affair and praised Huang: "I just know that he's a good person, but you never know what's going on." Huang has “really achieved incredible things”.

According to the New York Times, Trump was informed by the Secret Service about Huang's relationship with the alleged Chinese agent about a year ago and decided not to take any action.

Trump said Sunday he had no regrets: "You know, he's an honorable man. I think he probably has an explanation for it." China's government dismissed the New York Times report as "unfounded speculation."

Jensen Huang was born Jen-Hsun Huang in 1963 in the Taiwanese coastal city of Tainan. At the age of 9, he and his brother were sent to the USA, where they initially stayed with an uncle. He grew up in the states of Washington, Kentucky and Oregon, skipped two grades in school and met his future wife while studying electrical engineering. He moved with her to Silicon Valley, where they both worked as chip designers. Huang also earned a master's degree in electrical engineering.

In 1993, he and two other engineers founded the graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia in a diner where he had previously worked. In 2012, under Huang's leadership, Nvidia shifted its focus from graphics chips to artificial intelligence, which began its breakthrough and brought in money.

In 2018, he made what has since become known as Huang's law: progress in the development of graphics processors is much faster than that of main processors. According to the law, the performance of computer chips that power AI doubles at least every two years, regardless of their technical design.

Back in 2007, Huang and his wife founded a foundation that primarily supports educational institutions. After the flood disaster in Nepal in August 2026, he also privately donated $10 million. According to a report in the Guardian, he is said to have expressed his agreement with such a tax in January 2026 during the California debate over a one-off 5 percent wealth tax for billionaires.