Former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang cultivated an image of humility, but his biographer claims he had a volatile temper and would scream at anyone who challenged him.
When Huang first met biographer Stephen Witt in 2023, he attempted to “cloak his arrogance,” Witt wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday.
According to Witt, Huang routinely deflected praise for his achievements and instead highlighted the contributions of Nvidia employees.
The author also described Huang visiting modest, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and leaving unusually generous tips. On one occasion, Witt said, he left a waitress $1,000 on a $100 bill.
Witt, however, argued that this apparent modesty was largely performative and amounted to another form of self-praise.
“In truth, Mr Huang was quite arrogant. He had little tolerance for disagreement and almost no capacity for open discourse,” Witt wrote.
“When you contradicted him, even over the most trivial matter, it was like lighting a fuse. Stick to your position, and soon he exploded, screaming at you for your idiocy.”
Witt said Huang’s outbursts could “last an hour or more” and claimed that many members of the executive team appeared to be “genuinely afraid of him.”
Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang portrayed himself as a humble guy, but actually had a temper that saw him scream at anyone who disagreed with him, his biographer has claimed
Stephen Witt, author of Huang’s biography, The Thinking Machine, claimed the disgraced CEO had screaming fits could ‘last an hour or more’ and that most of his executive staff appeared to be ‘genuinely afraid of him’
Huang, who had been married to his wife Lori for more than 40 years, resigned from Nvidia on Thursday after revelations concerning three alleged extramarital affairs.
On Sunday, he admitted having an affair with Alice Huang, who is suspected of being a Chinese spy. He was also allegedly involved with Nvidia vice president of health care Kimberly Powell and a third, unnamed woman who also worked at the artificial intelligence company.
Witt said Huang had gone to “great lengths” to present himself as a devoted family man.
He frequently spoke about Lori and their two children, Madison and Spencer, both of whom worked at Nvidia. The family often traveled together, and Witt said Huang’s affection for them “seemed genuine.”
While researching Huang’s biography, The Thinking Machine, Witt said he asked about rumors of infidelity and marital problems. Everyone he spoke with, he claimed, described the couple’s marriage as idyllic.
In his op-ed, Witt described Huang’s alleged “betrayal” of Lori as “absolute.” He also recalled that Nvidia was a “boys’ club” during the 1990s, with male employees drinking beer in the office and playing video games.
Three decades later, Witt said, Huang appeared to place far greater emphasis on promoting women in the workplace.
“In 2023, while at Nvidia’s campus, I saw Mr Huang make an impassioned call for gender parity at Nvidia, where men still account for 80 percent of its employees,” he wrote, adding: “Maybe he had an ulterior motive.”
Huang is accused of cheating on his wife, Lori, pictured together, with at least three women
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Huang has been romantically linked to at least two women at Nvidia.
Two sources told the New York Times that Huang and Powell were reportedly filmed behaving affectionately at a San Jose, California, hotel during an Nvidia conference in March.
The alleged relationship would have breached Nvidia’s code of conduct, which instructs employees to “avoid situations where our actions conflict,” including conflicts involving “personal relationships.”
Few details have emerged about Huang’s alleged relationship with the other Nvidia employee, whose name has not been made public.
Huang did acknowledge having a relationship with Alice Huang, the woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. The timing of the alleged affair is unclear, although reports claim she openly discussed her closeness to him as early as June 2024.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that, at a computer industry trade show in Taipei that month, the suspected spy demonstrated her access to Huang by summoning him to a bar where executives were drinking.
Ms Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang, reportedly told the group: “Jensen’s a great friend of mine.” He arrived only a few minutes after she sent him a text inviting him to join them.
The artificial intelligence executive appeared in his trademark leather jacket and spent time with the group. A photograph was taken showing the Nvidia chief and the alleged spy seated close together.
Huang seen with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang in a bar in Taipei, Taiwan, in June 2024, moments after she allegedly boasted of her intimate access to him and told him to join her at the event
Huang was also allegedly involved with Nvidia’s vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell. He is seen here with Powell
During another visit to Taipei in May 2025, Huang was again seen with Ms Huang at a dinner. The pair were reportedly observed kissing each other on the cheek and touching one another’s arms, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Other images that surfaced after the scandal allegedly show the Nvidia chief and Alice Huang raising wine glasses in a toast and smiling together in photographs taken at different points in their relationship.
US authorities began investigating Ms Huang after her company, Megaspeed, was accused of illegally diverting Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to China by circumventing strict sanctions.
She is suspected of transferring advanced Nvidia chips to Beijing after the United States barred the company from selling them to China because of national security concerns.
US intelligence reportedly circulated a memo this spring alleging that she was an asset of China’s Ministry of State Security. Beijing has denied the allegations.
Authorities in Taiwan and Singapore have also examined Ms Huang’s alleged connections to Beijing’s intelligence services.
Huang has agreed to testify before Congress at some point before Thanksgiving, according to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast.
Attorney General Todd Blanche was questioned about the alleged affair with Ms Huang on Thursday but said it would be inappropriate for him to comment.
