3 minute read
Nvidia said on Sunday its board was probing whether CEO Jensen Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort, after a media report alleged he had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman who passed information to Beijing, Reuters reported.
Huang said in a message to employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife and took "full responsibility" for his actions, while Nvidia said the CEO was committed to continuing to lead the company without interruption.
The developments are likely to pressure the chipmaker's stock, which has already fallen sharply amid worries about the AI boom's sustainability, and may also raise questions about Huang's future at the helm of the company he co-founded, analysts said.
The New York Times reported last month that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, an unrelated former executive of Singapore-based company Megaspeed, who US authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset.
US authorities have scrutinized Megaspeed, which buys AI chips from Nvidia, over suspicions it helped Beijing gain access to advanced AI chips that are barred from shipment to China.
"The NVIDIA Board is initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation," Nvidia said.
The company said on Sunday that while its board had no reason to believe that either US national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, its inquiry would examine all available information.
The board has confidence in the CEO and his leadership team, Nvidia said, adding that Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had not spoken to Huang about the allegations, but called him a fine person. "I hope everything's fine. He's done such an incredible job," he added.
When asked if he believed he should have acted on intelligence when he was briefed about it, Trump said: "No, I don't think so. I think he's an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it."
The New York Times had reported that Trump was briefed about the intelligence findings roughly a year ago and chose not to do anything with the information.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to comment on Huang when asked by reporters earlier in the evening.
Nvidia shares fell in out-of-hours trading on Monday, according to Reuters.