Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sent shockwaves across the US after he admitted to having an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy, triggering the biggest crisis in the chipmaker’s history.
A year before the bombshell revelation, the tech leader reportedly began working with a communications firm known for handling sex scandals.
Before founding the firm, Heller also worked for Jane Harman, a former Democratic congresswoman from California, and later served as Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer’s press secretary in New York. The firm frequently communicated with Huang and his daughter Madison, who is a prominent figure in Nvidia. However, the report did not confirm whether Heller’s early work with the Nvidia boss involved his affair. Megaspeed was a major buyer of Nvidia’s advanced AI chips and was being investigated for illegally smuggling them into China. The report caused tensions within Nvidia’s top ranks.
Risa Heller’s previous clients include congressman Anthony Weiner, chef Mario Batali, and writer Jeffrey Toobin, according to a 2023 New York magazine profile. Jensen Huang first appeared in public with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based tech company Megaspeed International , in 2024. In October 2025, Huang’s business dealings with Megaspeed and his connection with Alice became public in a New York Times report, which alleged that the Trump administration was investigating whether Nvidia was helping China evade American export controls on AI chips.
Heller’s PR consultants were initially believed to be hired for matters related to his personal life, including his family’s philanthropic ventures, according to the WIRED report. Separately, three Republican House committee chairs asked Huang to discuss his alleged links with Alice Huang in a closed-door meeting, according to Axios . US President Donald Trump said on Monday the FBI was looking into the Nvidia CEO’s affair with Alice Huang, who is believed to be an operative working for China’s intelligence services.
