Nvidia ex-CEO Jensen Huang agrees to testify before US Congress after quitting over affairs

The now former CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has agreed to testify before the US Congress, said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast on Thursday. Mast further said that the Nvidia co-founder agreed to testify after senior lawmakers threatened to subpoena him.

Nvidia announced Huang’s immediate resignation as president, chief executive and board member following reports of an affair with a woman suspected of spying for China.

“Jensen and I have been very at odds, as some of you already know on export controls, but Nvidia is a very important company to the United States of America,” Mast told reporters at the US Capitol.

“I don’t want to see anything hurt in Nvidia, but he has some very serious questions to answer,” Mast added.

Testimony likely before Thanksgiving holiday

Although a final date for the testimony has not been specified, Huang is expected to testify under oath before the Thanksgiving holiday later this month, said a Bloomberg report. The closed-door briefing will focus on threats to US national security, a top Republican said.

The session will likely take place behind closed doors but is expected to be recorded on video and transcribed.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will participate alongside the House’s China and Intelligence panels.

Nvidia announced earlier on Thursday that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, CEO and a member of its board, effective immediately.

The company named executive vice president and chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive. She will continue in her finance role until the board decides on a permanent replacement, which will involve both internal and external candidates.

The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair.

Separately, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that Huang was right to resign from Nvidia.

“It was the right thing to do,” Jeffries said at a press conference. “Now we have to get to the bottom of whether America’s national security has been compromised.”

“The American people deserve answers, and we’re going to work to make sure that happens,” he said.

Mast, top Republicans sent letter to Huang last week

Mast, along with the top Republicans on the Intelligence Committee and Select Committee on China, sent a letter to Huang last week asking him to respond by Nov. 11 to a request to appear before Congress.

The first reported affair was with a suspected Chinese spy, Alice Huang, a businesswoman who worked for a Chinese company and Nvidia customer called Megaspeed. The Nvidia CEO also had a separate affair with Kimberly Powell, vice president of health care at the chipmaker.

Nvidia is one of America’s largest companies and a manufacturer of advanced semiconductor chips heavily sought after by China.

Huang has been an advocate for permitting sales to China, as lawmakers hawkish on the threats from Beijing called for greater restrictions on chip sales.

Two of Huang’s kids, Madison and Spencer Huang, and his son-in-law (Madison’s husband), Nico Caprez, are working at Nvidia.