Who Is Lori Huang? 10 Facts About Jensen Huang's Wife of Over 40 Years After Nvidia CEO Admits to Affair

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Lori Huang has spent most of her husband's career building Nvidia away from public attention. That changed this week after Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman U.S. intelligence officials suspect of spying for China.

Huang disclosed the relationship in an email to Nvidia employees on Sunday, the same day the company's board opened an independent investigation into reports that he had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. "I owe my family and all of you an apology," he wrote. "There is no excuse for what I did."

Lori Huang has not commented publicly. Here are 10 things to know about her.

1. She met Jensen Huang as his college lab partner

Born Lori Mills in 1961, she met her future husband at Oregon State University, where the two were paired as lab partners in an introductory electrical engineering class. She was 19, and he was 17. Huang has recalled that the course had about 250 students and only a few women.

2. She is an electrical engineer

Lori Huang graduated from Oregon State in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, according to the university. Jensen Huang earned his electrical engineering degree from the same school before getting a master's from Stanford University.

3. She started her career designing microchips

After college, the couple moved to Silicon Valley, where both worked as microchip designers. Jensen Huang has told The New Yorker that his wife earned more than he did at the time. That was years before he co-founded Nvidia in 1993 at a Denny's restaurant in San Jose.

4. The couple married in 1985

The Huangs married in 1985, about five years after they met. Their marriage has spanned the entire history of Nvidia, from its early days as a graphics chip startup to its rise as one of the world's most valuable companies.

5. She left engineering to raise their children

A few years into her career, Lori Huang left the workforce to raise the couple's two children, Spencer and Madison. Both now work at Nvidia. Madison Huang is a senior director in the company's Omniverse and robotics business, and Spencer Huang works on robotics products.

6. She leads the family's charitable foundation

In 2007, the couple founded the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation, a Palo Alto-based charity focused largely on science, technology, engineering and math education. Lori Huang is the foundation's president.

7. Her name is on major university gifts

In 2022, the Huangs gave $50 million to Oregon State University, plus an Nvidia supercomputer valued at about $25 million, to build the Jen-Hsun and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex. The center supports research in artificial intelligence, robotics, climate science and advanced engineering.

This year, the couple gave $75 million to Vanderbilt University for its new San Francisco campus, which is set to open in 2027. Its College of Art, Architecture, and Design will carry both of their names.

8. She is credited with her husband's signature look

Jensen Huang's black leather jacket has become a recognizable part of his public image. In an October 2023 interview on HP's online show "The Moment," Huang credited his wife and their daughter with choosing his look.

9. She has kept a low public profile

Unlike many spouses of tech billionaires, Lori Huang rarely gives interviews or makes public statements. She has appeared with her husband at selected events, including the Breakthrough Prize ceremony in Santa Monica, California, in April and the Computex technology show in Taiwan, but has otherwise stayed largely out of view.

10. She is now at the center of a public scandal

That privacy ended with reports that U.S. intelligence officials believe Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, an executive linked to Singapore-based Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer. The New York Times and the Financial Times reported that U.S. officials believe she was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security to gather information on the Nvidia chief.

In his email to staff, Jensen Huang said he was "deeply sorry," took "full responsibility" for his actions and said he hoped his family could heal. He did not name the woman.

"Leading NVIDIA is the privilege of my life," Huang wrote. "I am fully committed to NVIDIA and will work to earn back your confidence."

Nvidia's board said a committee of independent directors, working with outside counsel, will lead the review. "While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board's inquiry will examine all available information," the board said.

The board said Huang will stay on as CEO and is cooperating fully. "The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate," it said.

China rejected the spying allegations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called them "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China."

President Donald Trump, who has worked closely with Huang on chip and trade policy, defended him and called him "an honorable guy." Trump said Huang had "done an amazing job for our country."

Investors reacted sharply. Nvidia shares fell about 8% on Monday, reflecting concern about a company whose identity is closely tied to its founder. Lawmakers have also said they plan to look into the matter.

Lori Huang has not spoken publicly about the affair or the investigation. Her role as the public face of the family's philanthropy, and her decades-long partnership with one of the most powerful executives in technology, have drawn new attention as the investigation continues.