• Analysis
Nvidia board opens Jensen Huang investigation over Chinese intelligence reports
Nvidia's board said on Sunday it would investigate reports that CEO Jensen Huang, 63, was the target of a Chinese intelligence effort, after Huang told the board he had been intimate with a business executive US intelligence determined was gathering information for Beijing.
What the board said
Nvidia's board said Sunday it would investigate reports that CEO Jensen Huang, 63, was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, launching an inquiry that will examine all available information. The board said it has no reason to believe that national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.
The board added that Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it, and that he will remain CEO during the investigation.
The reports behind the inquiry
The announcement followed Huang telling the board he had been intimate with a business executive whom US intelligence determined was gathering information for Beijing, per The New York Times.
In a message to the company, Huang apologized, acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife and writing that his actions had hurt her and their children, that there was no excuse for what he did, and that he was deeply sorry.
The Times reported last month that US intelligence found Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and chip buyer believed to be feeding information directly to Beijing; the two are not related.
- •Alice Huang previously worked as a television reporter in China.
- •She later became a top executive at Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed.
Megaspeed's Nvidia ties
Megaspeed has grown into one of Nvidia's biggest customers in Southeast Asia. According to the Times, the company bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years.
Washington's response
President Donald Trump addressed the reports at his Halloween party, calling the situation very complex and saying he hoped everything was OK with Jensen Huang. Asked by reporters on Oct. 31, Trump said:
I've always found Jensen Huang to be very aboveboard
He added that the administration would look into the matter very closely.
- •Huang serves on the president's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
- •Trump has called Huang smart and amazing and has insisted he accompany him on foreign trips.
- •Secretary of State Marco Rubio, departing Sunday for a G7 meeting in Paris, declined to weigh in, saying, "I just can't comment because of the nature of it."
Why Nvidia matters in US-China tech tensions
Nvidia's chips power many data centers and systems used to train and run AI models, and its advanced processors have been a focus of US export restrictions limiting China's access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology. The company, based in Santa Clara, California, is the world's most valuable company and reported quarterly profits of $59.69 billion in August.
