Former Nvidia Chief Jensen Huang Agrees to Face Congress Before Thanksgiving

Jensen Huang, the former chief executive of Nvidia, has agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving, ending a week-long standoff with lawmakers who had threatened to subpoena him. The agreement, reached on Wednesday night, came hours before Huang resigned from the company he co-founded, and it sets up one of the most closely watched congressional appearances by a technology executive in years.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast announced the deal on Thursday. Huang is expected to appear behind closed doors, with the session recorded on video and transcribed, as three House committees dig into the scandal that forced him out: reports that he had an affair with a woman US authorities suspect of spying for China, and questions about how Nvidia's most advanced chips reached China despite American export controls.

Under oath, on camera, on the record

Mast said the testimony would be, "at a minimum, under oath and transcribed and video recorded." That matters because a transcribed, recorded session locks Huang's account into the official record, and because lawmakers from both parties have made clear they do not intend to take his word on trust.

The appearance is expected before Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26, though no final date has been scheduled yet. Mast said he hoped to bring Huang in within a week or so, while CNN reported that negotiators were discussing a closed-door briefing potentially as early as next week.

How the subpoena threat forced the agreement

The three committees — Foreign Affairs under Mast, the Select Committee on China under John Moolenaar, and the Intelligence Committee under Rick Crawford — first asked Huang to testify on November 4. When he did not agree, the chairs prepared a subpoena. Mast said the committees were ready to issue it if Huang withdrew his agreement.

Huang agreed on Wednesday, the same day Nvidia's board met to consider his future. On Thursday, the company confirmed in a securities filing that the board had accepted his resignation the previous day. Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer, has taken over as interim chief executive while the company searches for a permanent successor.

A third affair report lands the same day

As the testimony deal was announced, Reuters reported that Huang had a relationship with a second, unnamed Nvidia employee — a third affair, after Alice Huang and Kimberly Powell. Reuters said it was not naming the woman and that attempts to reach her were unsuccessful. The report added to the pressure on Huang in the hours before his resignation and is likely to feature in the questions lawmakers put to him.

What Congress wants to know

Lawmakers have two sets of questions. The first is about the chips: how Nvidia's advanced processors reached Chinese buyers, what Huang knew about the shipments, and whether the company and the Commerce Department did enough to stop them. The second is about the relationships themselves — whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, a question Nvidia's board had already been investigating with outside lawyers before he stepped down.

Huang admitted to an affair in a November 8 statement, without naming anyone. The New York Times reported on November 11 that he had also had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reported directly to him.

Why it matters

Huang built Nvidia into the most valuable company in the world and the central supplier of the artificial intelligence boom. His testimony will be the first time he answers questions under oath about a scandal that has already wiped hundreds of billions of dollars from Nvidia's value, shaken global AI stocks, and pushed Congress toward tighter chip export controls. What he says — and what he refuses to say — will shape not only his own future but the rules governing the world's most important technology.

Sources

• Reuters — Former Nvidia CEO Huang had a relationship with a second employee, sources say
• The New York Post
• Engadget
• The Hindu BusinessLine
• TechCrunch
• Daily Caller
• Times of India
• CNN
• Innopark IT — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns; Colette Kress Named Interim CEO
• Innopark IT — NYT Reports Jensen Huang Had Affair With Executive Kimberly Powell
• Innopark IT — House Republicans Give Jensen Huang Deadline to Testify or Face Subpoena
• Innopark IT — Nvidia Jensen Huang China Chip Spy Scandal Timeline Explained