Who is Lori Huang, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s wife and college sweetheart?

Lori Huang, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s wife of more than 40 years, has led a relatively private life – but she’s been thrust into the spotlight after her husband admitted to an affair with a suspected Chinese spy. 

The pair first met in a freshmen electrical engineering class at Oregon State University, where they were lab partners, according to the school’s website. Jensen was just 17 and “the youngest kid in school. There were 250 students and three girls,” he said in a 2024 interview. 

Jensen said he’d hoped that when he approached a 19-year-old Lori Mills, she would assume he was smart because he was so young to be in college. 

“I walked up to her and I said, ‘Do you want to see my homework?’” Jensen recalled. “‘If you do homework with me every Sunday, I promise you, you will get straight As.’”

Jensen said that’s how he made sure he had a date with Lori every Sunday – and to further woo her, he promised that he’d be a CEO by the time he was 30. 

He graduated from OSU in 1984 and worked at chip companies LSI Logic and Advanced Micro Devices before earning a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University in 1992. A year later, he co-founded Nvidia when he was 30 years old – following through on his promise. 

Lori graduated from OSU in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. 

The couple – who married five years after they met – have two children, Madison and Spencer. Both of them work at Nvidia. Madison is a senior director of product marketing and Spencer is a director of product management in robotics. Nico Caprez, Madison’s husband, also works at Nvidia as vice president of global AI infrastructure growth.

Jensen has praised his wife for being by his side throughout his career. Most recently, they were pictured together at a White House state dinner for Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September. 

“Lori’s been with me for a long time, our whole life,” Jensen told CNA, a Singapore-based news channel, in an interview in May. “She’s been part of Nvidia every step of the way.”

“She’s been to every conference, every speech, you know, and every moment of Nvidia, she was there.” 

He has also said that meeting Lori “was the most important, single event of OSU, and of my life.” 

Jensen has credited his wife and daughter for coming up with his signature look – a black leather jacket, typically one from Tom Ford. Over the summer, one of his pre-worn and signed jackets sold for $960,000.

“Don’t give me that,” Jensen said during an interview last year, when he was asked how he feels about becoming a style icon. “I’m happy that my wife and daughter dress me.”

Here’s the latest on the Nvidia CEO who had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy:

Lori is the president of the Jen-Hsun (Jensen) and Lori Huang Foundation, which the couple created in 2007. It owns 69 million shares of Nvidia stock and reported $9.1 billion in net assets in 2024, according to an IRS filing. 

It has donated millions to several organizations, including a $50 million donation to Oregon State University, as well as grants to Stanford University, Mental Health Innovations and Crisis Text Line, a global nonprofit that provides free mental health support and crisis intervention over text. 

Jensen started an email to staffers on Sunday with an apology to his family for his marital infidelity. 

“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” he wrote. “Throughout my life, my family has given me love and support. They deserve my honesty and loyalty. Instead, I let them down and damaged the life we built together.” 

“I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it. To my wife and family: I love you. I know an apology cannot undo what I have done. I hope our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust.”