Nvidia’s board launched an investigation into CEO Jensen Huang. He admitted an affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
Nvidia’s board of directors announced Sunday that it has opened an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a businesswoman U.S. intelligence reportedly believes worked for Chinese intelligence. In an email to staff that the company released, Huang admitted to an affair. “I owe my family and all of you an apology,” he wrote, adding that he had fallen short of his responsibilities to the company.
The board said Huang supports the review and will cooperate with it, and that it retains confidence in him and his leadership team. A spokesperson said he is committed to continuing as CEO without interruption. Analyst Dan Ives said he expects Huang to remain in the role in the near term.
The New York Times reported last month that the woman, Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed, may have been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to gather information on Nvidia’s chief executive. She is not related to him. Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer, has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies obtain Nvidia’s AI chips. The Times reported officials initially did not believe Huang knew of her alleged intelligence role.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington has denied any spying allegations. Nvidia earlier said the pair’s interactions were not unusual and that it does not share classified information with customers. The reports prompted bipartisan criticism in Congress, and House Republicans have demanded answers from Huang and the board.
This report draws on TechCrunch, CNBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, Fox Business and Yahoo Finance.