Nvidia CEO admits to affair with alleged Chinese spy, sparking investigation

Nvidia said Sunday its board will open an investigation into CEO Jensen Huang after he admitted to being intimate with a businessperson who U.S. intelligence said was a Chinese spy.“The NVIDIA Board is initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that our founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” a statement released Sunday afternoon says. “A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee the investigation. The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders.”“I was unfaithful to my wife,” Huang wrote in a draft email sent to employees that was obtained by Axios. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. Leading Nvidia is the privilege of my life. I am fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back your confidence.” Huang’s ties to the accused executive, Alice Huang, stem from a New York Times report which found she had developed a “close relationship” with Jensen, who runs one of the leading technology companies critical to the artificial intelligence race. The report found American intelligence had deemed Huang, who worked for a Singapore-based data center company, to be “helping China evade constraints on its ability to gain access to advanced A.I. chips.”Huang has become a key figure in the AI industry alongside other industry titans such as Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. The company’s concrete ties to tensions with China and emerging technology, as well as its record-breaking market capitalization milestones and outsized impact on the stock market, have made Huang one of the most notable executives in the country.NVIDIA DEFENDS CEO’S TIES TO EXECUTIVE ACCUSED OF AIDING CHINESE INTELLIGENCE“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,” its statement continued. “Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it. The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates when necessary.”“Today’s news will not slow Nvidia,” John Rizzo, a company spokesperson, said Sunday. “Jensen is committed to continuing to lead Nvidia as C.E.O. without interruption.”