Symbolic imageNvidia board opens probe after CEO Huang admits affair with suspected Chinese agent
Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation on Sunday after CEO Jensen Huang admitted an affair with a woman US officials suspect was recruited by China's intelligence service.
A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will run the inquiry, Nvidia announced on Sunday, 8 November. The board says it has no reason to believe US national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, and it keeps its confidence in Huang, who is to remain CEO. In an email to staff, Huang wrote: "I was unfaithful to my wife. There is no excuse for what I did." He admitted the affair after the Financial Times reported it, days after Nvidia had described his contacts as ordinary dealings with a customer representative.
Woman linked to Megaspeed
The New York Times reported on 29 October that US intelligence concluded Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, passed information to Beijing. Megaspeed buys Nvidia chips, and US authorities have scrutinised it over suspicions it helped China access barred AI chips. Beijing dismissed the report as "unfounded speculation".
Washington reacts
Top House Republicans called on Huang to brief Congress this month. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to comment on Sunday, calling it an internal company matter, while Bloomberg reports that President Trump backed Huang.