Who Is Kang Wei? Alice Huang's Husband Identified as Nvidia Scandal Widens Over Her Age, Alias and AI Chips

SINGAPORE — The scandal surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang widened Wednesday as new reports about Alice Huang, the Chinese businesswoman at its center, raised questions about her personal life, her identity and how she gained access to one of the most powerful executives in technology.

Chinese and international media have identified Kang Wei, a Shanghai-based financier and founder of the private equity firm Shanghai Hexi Investment, as Alice Huang's husband. According to several reports, it was Kang who first introduced her to the Nvidia chief.

Alice Huang, also known by her Chinese name Huang Le, is not related to Jensen Huang. U.S. intelligence agencies have said she passed information to Beijing, according to The New York Times and the Financial Times. Jensen Huang admitted on Sunday to an extramarital affair, prompting Nvidia's board to open an independent investigation.

A decade-long partnership

Chinese financial outlet Caixin reported Tuesday that Alice Huang met Kang while working at CITIC Securities, a Chinese investment bank. She joined his firm, Shanghai Hexi Investment, in November 2015.

According to Caixin, Kang held about 48.75% of the company at the time, Alice Huang held about 25% and another partner, Zhu Xiaoming, held 26.25%. Her stake was reportedly transferred to her by Kang. After Zhu left in 2017, the firm was run jointly by Kang and Alice Huang, according to reports.

Multiple sources told Caixin that Kang is her husband. The Financial Times reported that the two worked together for nearly 10 years and were known in Chinese financial circles as an influential couple. Kang, 51, has been consistently introduced as Alice Huang's husband to Chinese investors and Megaspeed employees, according to reports.

Kang was once a rising star in Chinese asset management. He became general manager of Zhonghai Fund at 32, earning a reputation as one of the country's youngest fund company chiefs. In recent years, he has been penalized several times by Chinese securities regulators. Caixin reported that Shanghai police detained him around the Lunar New Year in 2026 in a suspected stock manipulation case.

The technology publication The Information reported that Kang had known Jensen Huang since the 2010s and introduced Alice Huang to him. An insider told reporters that Kang boasted of his partner's relationship with the Nvidia chief and used it to raise money for their businesses.

Hexi has said that neither Kang nor Alice Huang is still employed by the firm. One investor, however, said she showed a Hexi business card to investors as recently as last year.

Questions over her age and identity

Reports have also raised questions about Alice Huang's background. Korean media, including broadcaster YTN, have reported that she was born in 1977, which would make her 49, citing school records from China's Hunan province. Other reports have given a later birth year. Those records could not be independently verified, and South Korea's Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that her age, education and current residence have not been officially disclosed.

The Financial Times reported that she was born in a rural part of Hunan and worked as a reporter for state broadcaster CCTV before moving into finance at HSBC and CITIC Securities. However, AFP and Spain's El País reported that the details on her online profile had not been verified. The New York Post said it contacted CCTV and Hunan TV but could not confirm she had worked there.

She has also used more than one name. According to the Financial Times, after moving into artificial intelligence in Singapore, she began calling herself "Alice Wong," switching her surname from its Mandarin to its Cantonese spelling. A 2024 social media post by a company called NetThunder showing her with Jensen Huang at a bar in Taipei identified her as "Megaspeed Chair Alice Wong."

Taiwan's National Immigration Agency confirmed Wednesday that she entered Taiwan using a Hong Kong passport. "We were aware of all her relevant entry and exit records," Director-General Lin Horng-en told reporters. Taiwanese officials said her entry permit has been revoked.

The chip allegations

At the heart of the case is Megaspeed, a Singapore-based cloud computing company that bought large volumes of Nvidia's advanced AI chips. U.S. authorities began investigating the company late last year over suspicions that it helped funnel chips to China in violation of export controls.

The Information reported, citing sources, that Alice Huang enabled at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip exports to China through a network of companies in Singapore and China, moving roughly 240,000 chips. Megaspeed's assets jumped to $3 billion in 2024 from $33 million in 2023, according to business filings. Singapore corporate records show she stepped down as a Megaspeed director in November 2023.

Megaspeed has previously said there was "no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities." China's foreign ministry has called the spying allegations "entirely groundless" and "intended to smear and malign China." Alice Huang and her associates have denied the allegations, according to broadcast reports.

Jensen Huang returns to work

Jensen Huang returned to Nvidia's headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Monday and led his regular morning meeting with senior executives, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the gathering. He opened the closed-door meeting by addressing the affair and apologizing to staff, then moved on to business without taking questions. He was back in the office Tuesday.

Employees described the mood inside the company as "sad," according to reports, with longtime staff struggling to reconcile the revelations with their admiration for the founder.

Nvidia's board has hired former acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead its investigation into whether Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. Nvidia has said Huang is committed to continuing as CEO "without interruption."

Pressure is also building in Washington. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Huang and the board "owe Congress answers." Republican Reps. John Moolenaar, Brian Mast and Rick Crawford have called on Huang to testify, and three House committee chairs have invited him to a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18.

Some investors say the affair itself is not the central issue. "It's about whether he misled NVDA's board about his involvement and potential conflict of interest with a major and geopolitically sensitive customer," Gary Black, managing partner of The Future Fund, wrote on X.

Nvidia shares have fallen nearly 10% this week, wiping out about $400 billion in market value. The company reports third-quarter earnings on Nov. 17.