Taiwan will review security guidance for senior figures in its artificial intelligence sector after a third alleged extramarital affair deepened the scandal surrounding Nvidia's former chief executive, Jensen Huang. The decision comes days after Huang's resignation wiped nearly $600bn off the chipmaker's market value.

Wen-Chieh Liang, deputy minister at Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (the government body handling relations with Beijing), confirmed the rethink in an interview with City A.M. Asked whether the allegations would trigger a review of security advice for AI industry leaders, Liang replied: "Of course."

His comments carry weight beyond the personal drama. Taiwan hosts the critical node of the global AI chip supply chain (the manufacturing ecosystem that produces most of the world's advanced semiconductors), and Huang spent years cultivating that relationship. "For the past five years, Jensen Huang has done a lot for Taiwan's AI supply chain and AI industry, so we are very sorry that he's in this situation right now," Liang said.

What the minister did not confirm

Liang pushed back on one central claim. The New York Times reported that Taiwanese authorities were warned about a suspected espionage threat as early as 2024 — a timeline that, if accurate, would suggest officials sat on the risk for two years.

Liang disputed that account. "Regarding the New York Times report that Taiwan's government was warned in 2024 regarding a potential spy situation, I have to say that at least from my department, the Mainland Affairs Council, we were not notified about this," he said. "So I am not sure that the report is 100 per cent correct."

The caveat matters. One ministry's ignorance does not disprove the report; another agency may have received the warning and kept it compartmentalised. Neither Liang nor the report's claim has been independently resolved — a gap that leaves the timeline of official awareness open.

The espionage thread

The security review follows Taiwan's decision to revoke the entry permit of Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom US intelligence officials suspect of gathering information for Beijing. Taiwanese authorities said she entered the island multiple times in 2024 and 2025, including during visits by Jensen Huang. Beijing has dismissed the espionage allegations as unsubstantiated.

Jensen Huang has acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife over his relationship with Alice Huang. He has not publicly confirmed two other alleged affairs.

A third affair, and a 16 per cent collapse

New reports now allege Huang had an intimate relationship with another Nvidia employee, bringing the number of alleged extramarital affairs to three. The earlier revelation involved Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reported directly to Huang — a reporting line that compounds the corporate governance questions now facing the board.

The 63-year-old resigned on Thursday after 33 years leading Nvidia, with finance chief Colette Kress appointed interim chief executive. The market response was brutal:

• Nvidia shares plunged 16 per cent at the open, erasing nearly $600bn in market value
• Coreweave, an AI infrastructure firm, fell roughly six per cent
• The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both opened lower

The sell-off reflects a judgment that Huang himself — not merely the products he built — anchored investor confidence in Nvidia's dominance of AI chips (the processors that train and run large AI models).

What does this change for the White House?

The scandal has reached Donald Trump. The US president confirmed earlier this week that the FBI is investigating the alleged intelligence connections — a federal probe that could outlast the news cycle and, unlike a resignation, produce findings under oath.

Trump defended Huang, saying the founder told him he had "absolutely no idea" the woman was a suspected spy. "I believe him," Trump said, according to his own account of the conversation. That belief, notably, is Trump's characterisation of a private exchange, not a verified fact.

For Taiwan, the practical question is narrower: whether its screening of foreign nationals entering the island — and its vetting guidance for executives who personify strategically vital industries — tightens before the next case, rather than after it. Liang's "of course" suggests it will. Whether that review produces enforceable rules, or stays a press-conference promise, remains unsaid.