Nvidia Board Opens Probe Into Whether CEO Jensen Huang Was Target of Foreign Spying
Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation into whether chief executive Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, the company said on Sunday, after reports that he had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman accused of passing information to Beijing.
A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation, Nvidia said. The board said it had no reason to believe that either United States national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but added that the inquiry would examine all available information.
Huang told employees in a message on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” he wrote. He said he supported the investigation and was committed to continuing to lead Nvidia without interruption.
At the center of the reports is Alice Huang, a former executive of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based cloud computing company. The New York Times reported last month that Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang, whom United States authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset. The two are not related.
Megaspeed is a Nvidia customer. United States authorities have been investigating whether the company helped Beijing gain access to advanced artificial intelligence chips that are barred from shipment to China. Reports say Megaspeed bought $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the last two years.
The Chinese Embassy dismissed the allegations in late October as groundless smears. No one has been charged. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims in the report.
Nvidia shares fell sharply on Monday, dropping more than 6 percent in Frankfurt trading and extending last week’s selloff to fresh multi-month lows. Nvidia was valued at $4.5 trillion as of Nov. 6, making it one of the world’s most valuable companies.
In Washington, the Republican chairmen of three House committees, Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Communist Party and Intelligence, have requested a closed-door briefing from Huang on Nov. 18. President Donald Trump said he had not spoken to Huang since the investigation was announced, while calling him a fine person.
Nvidia reports earnings on Nov. 17. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management, put the odds of Huang keeping his job at about 50-50. Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it ever since.
The fallout has reached South Korea. Madison Huang, Huang’s daughter and a Nvidia executive, cancelled a planned visit to Seoul for Nvidia AI Day, a two-day event expected to draw about 2,000 participants.
