Second-affair allegation hits Nvidia chief Jensen Huang amid Chinese spy honeytrap probe

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and the company's healthcare VP Kimberly Powell reportedly had an affair (AP/LinkedIn)

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, already in the middle of the fallout of an affair scandal, is reported to have had another extramarital relationship with an executive of the company. According to New York Times, the second affair was with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice-president of healthcare.

The previously unreported allegation comes as Nvidia’s board investigates Huang’s involvement with Alice Huang, whom US officials have identified as a Chinese intelligence asset, according to the newspaper.

Five people at Nvidia told NYT about the second affair. Two of them said that a video showed Huang, 63, and Powell, 48, being affectionate at a hotel in San Jose, California, during an Nvidia conference in March. NYT said it had not seen the footage. Both executives are married to other people.

Asked by telephone on Wednesday about Powell, Huang said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” before ending the call, the newspaper reported.

Nvidia declined to issue a statement on the matter, while Powell did not immediately respond to NYT‘s request for comment.

According to the five people cited in the report, Huang’s relationship with Powell has been a subject of discussion within Nvidia.

Who is Kimberly Powell?

Kimberly Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 and oversees efforts to apply its chip technology to higher education and health care, with a particular focus on medical imaging devices, according to the company’s website.

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She graduated from Boston University and then attended MIT Sloan School of Management in 2007.

Her LinkedIn profile lists a promotion to senior director of artificial intelligence business development in 2016. By late 2017, she had become vice-president of health care. She also represents Nvidia at technology conferences worldwide.

At Nvidia’s annual GTC developer conference in San Jose in March, Powell discussed how AI could support advances in health care and biology. Her presentation included cartoon images of Huang, reported NYT.

The company’s code of conduct tells employees to avoid conflicts involving personal relationships and says reports of misconduct are investigated promptly. Many companies restrict relationships between managers and employees who report to them. In this case, Powell reported to Huang.

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Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and built it into a leading supplier of artificial intelligence chips. His personal relationships came under the scanner after NYT reported last month that US officials had identified a Chinese executive close to him as an intelligence asset.

Following Huang’s acknowledgement of that affair this month, Nvidia’s board commissioned an investigation led by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Republican leaders of three influential House committees have also sought a closed-door briefing with him about his interactions with Alice Huang.

China has rejected the espionage allegations and Alice Huang has not responded to requests for comment, according to the report.