Nvidia’s outgoing Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang will testify before Congress ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.
The development was confirmed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast soon after Huang was sacked as Nvidia’s boss on Thursday.
Huang, who had been Nvidia’s president and CEO since co-founding the company in 1993, stepped down after attracting immense scrutiny following reports of him being romantically involved in an extramarital affair with a Chinese businesswoman who has been identified as an intelligence asset of Beijing by US authorities.
Nvidia stock was down 5.77% at the time of writing.
Huang’s troubles keep rising
“I don’t want to see anything hurt in Nvidia, but he has some very serious questions to answer.”
Brian Mast
Huang had been summoned by a trio of House Republicans last week, when the matter had yet to escalate to this extent.
The then-Nvidia CEO had been asked to appear before the committee for a closed-door briefing on November 18 regarding the allegations.
Alongside Mast, John Moolenaar, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Rick Crawford, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, have also summoned Huang.
A Reuters report on Wednesday confirmed that Mast was willing to issue a congressional subpoena if Huang chose not to respond to the summons.
A subpoena is a formal, legally binding order that compels a person to provide testimony.
On Thursday, hours after Huang’s exit as CEO, Mast confirmed that the outgoing Nvidia boss had agreed to testify.
The date is still being worked out, but it is expected to be before the Thanksgiving holiday.
“He has agreed to come,” Mast told reporters. “We’re in negotiations for which day.”
He also said that the meeting is expected to be held over video and transcribed.
“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 said.
Huang has been one of the faces of the AI buildout and had also built a close relationship with President Donald Trump.
Trump has continued to back Huang publicly despite the concerns.
Huang exits
The announcement of Huang’s exit caps a turbulent week for Nvidia and its founder after he acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife, although he did not name the suspected Chinese agent.
The Information reported that Huang’s affair had helped facilitate at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to Chinese companies.
While the board initially expressed confidence in Huang following the reports, fresh revelations emerged on Wednesday, further worsening the situation for the outgoing Nvidia boss.
The New York Times reported that Huang had also been romantically involved with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare.
Nvidia has appointed Colette Kress, the company’s current executive vice president and chief financial officer, as interim CEO.
Kress will continue to serve as executive vice president and CFO while taking on the interim CEO role until a permanent successor is appointed.
AI disclosure: AI tools assisted with research and drafting of this piece. An Invezz editor reviewed the facts, sources and wording before publication. Any opinions or analysis are Invezz’s, not those of an automated system.
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