Nvidia CEO Admits Affair with Alleged Chinese Spy, Investigation Launched
Nvidia is investigating whether its 63-year-old CEO, Jensen Huang, was targeted by a Chinese intelligence operation. Reports emerged that he had a close relationship with a business executive suspected of gathering information for Beijing.
The company’s board of directors announced the investigation on Sunday, after Huang admitted to the board that he had been intimate with the woman. The New York Times identified her as Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and chip buyer who previously worked as a television reporter before becoming a senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed.
According to the Times, US intelligence agencies determined that Alice Huang was feeding information directly to Beijing. The two are not related.
In a letter to Nvidia employees obtained by the Associated Press, Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife and apologised to his family and colleagues. “I have fallen short of that responsibility,” Huang wrote, while taking “full responsibility” for his actions.
Nvidia’s board said it had “no reason to believe” that national security or company secrets had been compromised but would examine all available information.
The allegations carry wider implications for the company, whose artificial intelligence chips are central to the global technology race. Nvidia has also been caught up in US efforts to restrict China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology.
Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump publicly defended Huang on Sunday. Trump described him as an honourable man who had done an “amazing job for our country”.
Huang will remain CEO and has agreed to cooperate with the investigation.