Nvidia's board of directors has opened an independent investigation into reports that chief executive Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence operation, the company said on Sunday, in a disclosure that lands just days before the chipmaker reports quarterly earnings.
A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee the inquiry, Nvidia said. The board said it has "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised," but added that the inquiry "will examine all available information." The board expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team, and said Huang supports the investigation and has agreed to cooperate. He will remain chief executive while the review runs.
What Huang told staff
In an email to Nvidia employees on Sunday, Huang admitted to an extramarital relationship and apologised to staff for being unfaithful to his wife, according to reports of the memo. The board's statement did not name the person involved or describe the relationship.
The reports centre on Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a Chinese citizen and senior executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based data-centre company. The New York Times reported in late October that US intelligence agencies had concluded she was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security and tasked with cultivating a close relationship with Jensen Huang to gather information about Nvidia and to press him to lobby Washington for looser limits on AI chip sales to China. The two are not related. The Financial Times later reported that US officials believed the relationship was romantic.
A major customer under scrutiny
Megaspeed has become one of Nvidia's largest customers, buying about $4.8 billion of its equipment, according to the Times. US officials reportedly concluded, based on electronic surveillance, that Alice Huang was passing information to Beijing. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has denied any spying allegations. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs has said no such investigations were conducted in respect of Alice Huang.
Nvidia had previously described Jensen Huang's interactions with Alice Huang as "not unusual or unexpected" given their business ties. The board's statement marks a shift, with the company now saying it prioritises US national and economic security and will provide further updates "as appropriate." No deadline for the inquiry was announced.
Political pressure builds ahead of earnings
Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, pledged on Saturday to investigate the matter, adding political pressure on the world's most valuable chipmaker. The disclosure also comes as Huang faces a separate deadline: House Republicans have asked him to respond by November 11 to questions about Nvidia's China business, ahead of a closed-door briefing on November 18, the day after Nvidia reports third-quarter results.
Nvidia's board stressed that the investigation does not amount to a finding of wrongdoing, and there is no evidence in the reports that Huang himself took part in any intelligence operation. But the episode puts fresh scrutiny on the chief executive at a moment when Washington's controls on advanced AI chips sold to China are already one of the most sensitive issues in US technology policy.
