Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation into Jensen Huang after reports that a foreign intelligence effort targeted its CEO. The same day, Huang told staff in a company-wide message that he’d been unfaithful to his wife.
The timing is awkward. Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, reports quarterly earnings on 17 November, and three House Republican committee chairs have asked Huang to sit for a closed-door briefing the next day. We don’t know yet whether he’ll attend.
I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, Nvidia
A committee of independent directors, with help from outside counsel, will oversee the inquiry. The board says it has “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised”, but it will “examine all available information”. It also said it has “confidence in Jensen and his leadership team”, and Huang wrote that he’ll “cooperate fully”.
The spying claims come from reports by The New York Times and the Financial Times, not from Nvidia. In October, The New York Times reported that US intelligence found Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen, was funnelling information to Beijing. It said she had “developed a close relationship” with the Nvidia chief. The Financial Times later reported that US intelligence believed the two had a romantic relationship.
Alice Huang and Jensen Huang aren’t related. Alice Huang is a top executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore data centre company. It became one of Nvidia’s biggest customers in Southeast Asia and bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over the past two years. China called the allegations “groundless speculation”.
Before the board acted, Nvidia downplayed the contact: “Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year.”
Megaspeed has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies acquire Nvidia AI chips, and the US blocks exports of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China. Smuggling is a live problem: in May, Taiwan detained three people over illegal Nvidia chip exports. Huang, meanwhile, has argued for broader AI chip sales to China, saying it’s better for the US if the world builds on American technology.
Ives, an analyst, sees the damage reaching the company as much as Huang. He called it “a black eye moment for Jensen” that “will create an overhang on the stock”. George Chen of The Asia Group was blunter about Huang’s role: “Nvidia and Jensen are deeply intertwined. Many people will say Nvidia without Jensen won’t be the same.”
For now, the board is backing its founder and says it will provide further updates “as appropriate”. The next test comes in nine days, when Nvidia reports earnings. Congress requested the briefing for 18 November.
