TAIPEI – Dressed in pink, alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang leaned in to give Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang a peck on his cheek at a restaurant in Taipei in May 2025. This intimate behaviour was captured through the glass by Taiwanese media, who were waiting outside to interview him after his business dinner.

A year earlier, in June 2024, the couple was photographed seated side by side drinking whisky at a Taipei bar with executives from other tech companies.

Now these and other images are going viral after Jensen Huang, who is married with two children, admitted to having an affair on Nov 8, though he did not name the third party.

In Taiwan, where Tainan-born Huang is revered like a rock star, the revelation that he betrayed his family and may even have been duped by a Chinese spy is a double whammy.

Taiwanese are questioning how Alice Huang even entered Taiwan, as mainland Chinese must apply for special permission to do so.

Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency has since confirmed that she used a Hong Kong passport. It is generally easier for Hong Kong passport holders to apply for permits to enter Taiwan, while those holding mainland Chinese passports face stricter vetting procedures.

Alice Huang has now had her permit revoked, meaning it is impossible for her to enter Taiwan again, said Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang on Nov 11.

“If we had known she was a spy, we would not have let her enter Taiwan,” she told lawmakers in Parliament, vowing to review immigration procedures.

Liu also said Taiwan’s “national security units are actively investigating the matter”.

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It is not surprising that the Taiwanese authorities are taking this breach seriously.

In Taiwan, the chip industry is the engine that is driving economic growth, projected to top 11% in 2026.

While US tech firms are the chief designers of the high-end semiconductors that AI applications rely on, a handful of Taiwanese companies make them.

Taiwan manufactures more than 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, and that market is dominated by TSMC – Taiwan’s most valuable company and the primary producer of Nvidia’s highly sought-after chips.

But it is not just about hurting the Taiwanese economy.

Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is hailed by some as a “silicon shield”.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has not renounced the use of force for reunification.

Protecting the key technologies that drive AI, and therefore the US and global economy, is one oft-cited reason that the US will come to Taiwan’s aid if China ever tries to take Taiwan by force.

A threat to Taiwan’s status as the world’s paramount chipmaker is thus also a national security risk.

It has not yet been proven that Alice Huang was indeed a spy, but she did work at Singapore-based Megaspeed – a company under investigation for bypassing US export controls and possibly smuggling Nvidia chips to China.

China has dismissed the accusations of espionage as “groundless smears”.

Nvidia’s board of directors has launched an investigation to review the allegations and the company’s security measures, and Huang has been asked to attend a closed-door congressional briefing later in November.

On Nov 8, the Nvidia CEO wrote a note of apology to his staff, saying that he was “unfaithful” and had hurt his wife and children.

He assured colleagues that he is fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back their confidence. He also acknowledged the national security concerns that his affair raised.

“I am committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America’s national security. I am proud and grateful to be an American,” he wrote.

With the revelation of the affair, Jensen Huang’s lobbying to sell Nvidia chips to China has come under renewed scrutiny.

He had earlier argued that US export controls would force China to become self-sufficient, and advocated selling chips to China so that it remains reliant on US technology. This line will be a much harder sell after this scandal.

What confidential information, if any, was Alice Huang privy to, and what influence did she have on Jensen Huang – a multi-billionaire pivotal to the AI industry, who also had the ear of US President Donald Trump?

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It is hard to say as investigations are ongoing, but she has certainly punctured Jensen Huang’s aura.

Before the scandal broke, the Nvidia CEO, who moved to the US as a child, was mobbed at his jaunts to Taiwan’s night markets.

The tech mogul was cheekily known as “Huang Papa” (Daddy Huang) – the “godfather of AI”, responsible for the AI boom that is powering Taiwan’s tech stocks and lining the pockets of investors.

This wholesome image is now taking a hit as AI-generated memes on his infidelity go viral, while Taiwanese tabloids run analyses on his star sign (he is an Aquarius) and claim it was inevitable that he would cheat on his wife.

One article, for instance, quoted a well-known Taiwanese fortune-teller’s warning that Aquarius men must be vigilant against “honey traps”.

Even his signature black leather jackets have become the butt of jokes, with netizens saying that the jackets – a symbol of rebellion – were a “red flag” and that they “confessed before he did”.

It is hard to imagine how anything he says about AI now can carry the same weight as before.