Nvidia Board Launches Review of CEO Jensen Huang’s Contact with Chinese Executive

Nvidia’s board of directors announced on Sunday that the company is opening an internal investigation into reports that CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The inquiry will examine all available information regarding the matter, according to a statement released by the board.

The review follows a report by The New York Times stating that U.S. intelligence agencies determined Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen who served as a chip buyer for Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed. U.S. intelligence concluded that Alice Huang was gathering information for Beijing. The two executives are not related.

Jensen Huang, 63, will remain in his role as CEO during the duration of the investigation. In a message to the company, he apologized for his conduct, stating that he was unfaithful to his wife. He noted that his actions hurt his wife and children and that he is deeply sorry for what he did. The board said Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it.

The board stated it has no reason to believe that national security or Nvidia’s secrets were compromised. The company is the world’s most valuable firm, with its chips powering many data centers used to train artificial intelligence models. Nvidia reported quarterly profits of $59.69 billion in August, continuing a streak of surpassing Wall Street earnings expectations over the past three years.

Alice Huang previously worked as a television reporter in China before becoming a top executive at Megaspeed. The data center company has become one of Nvidia’s largest customers in Southeast Asia, purchasing more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years. Nvidia’s advanced processors have also been a focus of U.S. export restrictions intended to limit China’s access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has not spoken with Jensen Huang about the development. Trump praised the CEO, calling him an honorable guy who has done an amazing job for the country. He said he was open to taking Huang on his upcoming trip to Asia, noting that Huang serves on the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he could not address the situation due to the nature of the intelligence and the internal corporate matter. Rubio was departing for a G7 meeting in Paris when he told reporters that he could not comment further on the situation.