Nvidia launches investigation into CEO over affair with alleged Chinese spy; Donald Trump calls Jensen Huang ‘honorable’
Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation after CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an affair with a business executive whom US officials reportedly believe was a Chinese spy. In a statement on its website, the board said it was opening the probe in light of recent reporting that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
According to the Nvidia board, the investigation will be conducted by a committee of independent directors, assisted by independent outside counsel.
“The Board prioritises US national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders. 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 statement added.
The development came after Huang acknowledged to the board that he had been in an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang. The New York Times and the Financial Times reported that an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company, had been recruited to spy for China.
According to the Associated Press, Alice Huang was previously a television reporter in China before becoming a top executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed, which has become one of Nvidia’s biggest customers in Southeast Asia. Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years.
Huang, in a message to the company, apologised for his conduct.
“I was unfaithful to my wife,” he said. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Sunday defended Huang, calling him a ‘fine person’ and ‘honourable guy’. The US President, however, said that he had not spoken to the Nvidia CEO.
“I hope everything’s fine then. He’s done such an incredible job,” Trump said, speaking to reporters.
Asked whether he wished he had acted on intelligence when he was briefed about spying, Trump said: “I think he’s an honourable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. He’s done an amazing job for our country.”
When asked if he would still take Huang with him on his trip to Asia next week, Trump said he was open to it.
“I don’t know, but I’d certainly take him,” he said.
63-year-old Huang, who was born in Taipei, Taiwan, moved to the United States in 1973 at age 9.
Huang and Nvidia, the company he co-founded, have been instrumental in the AI revolution as its chips are the backbone of the data centres and computing systems used to train and run large language models.
Riding the AI wave, Nvidia became the world's most valuable company for the first time in June 2024. Currently, Nvidia is the second-most valuable company in the world, behind Apple, with a market cap of $4.506 trillion.
Huang’s fortunes also shot up with the AI boom, peaking at around $200 billion earlier this year, making him the 7th-wealthiest person in the world. Huang’s net worth has since fallen to $155 billion, and he is currently ranked 10th on the world’s richest list, according to Bloomberg.
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