Nvidia Opens Probe After CEO Huang Admits Affair With Executive U.S. Intelligence Linked to Beijing

On Sunday, Nvidia's board of directors announced it is opening an investigation into reports that its chief executive, Jensen Huang, was the "target of a foreign intelligence effort." The announcement followed an admission Huang made to the board: that he had been intimate with a business executive who, according to The New York Times, U.S. intelligence determined was gathering information for Beijing.

Huang, 63, put his own account in a letter to Nvidia employees, which The Associated Press obtained. He wrote that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologized to his family and colleagues, saying he took "full responsibility." He called leading Nvidia the privilege of his life and said he had fallen short of his responsibility to serve employees and be worthy of their trust. The letter did not name the woman or address her reported ties to Beijing. It did acknowledge the national security concerns raised in news coverage. Huang said he supports the board's review and will cooperate fully, adding, "I love our country and our company."

The board said it has "no reason to believe" that national security or Nvidia's secrets were compromised, but that the inquiry will examine all available information. It said Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating. He will stay on as CEO while it proceeds. Company spokesperson John Rizzo said the news "will not slow Nvidia" and that Huang intends to lead the company without interruption.

The Times reported last month that U.S. intelligence agencies had found Huang developed a close relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and chip buyer, and concluded she was passing information directly to Beijing. According to the Times, the two are not related. She was once a television reporter in China and later became a top executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company. Megaspeed has become one of Nvidia's largest customers in Southeast Asia, and the Times reported it bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years.

The stakes extend beyond one executive's personal conduct. Nvidia's chips power many of the data centers and computing systems used to train and run AI models, and its advanced processors have been a focus of U.S. export restrictions meant to limit China's access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology. Nvidia is the world's most valuable company, and it has regularly beaten Wall Street's earnings expectations over the past three years. The Santa Clara, California-based company reported quarterly profits of $59.69 billion in August.

Washington's response so far has been warm toward Huang or silent. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters before returning to the White House, said he had not spoken with Huang about the development. "I hope everything's fine then. He's done such an incredible job," he said. Asked whether he wished he had acted on intelligence when briefed about spying, Trump called Huang "an honorable guy" who "probably has an excuse for it." On whether he would bring Huang on his trip to Asia next week, Trump said, "I don't know, but I'd certainly take him." Huang serves on the president's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, departing for a G7 meeting in Paris, declined to comment, citing "the nature of it" and saying he could not discuss an internal corporate matter at Nvidia.

What to watch now is what the board's review finds, particularly whether any information sensitive to export controls was exposed, and how Washington handles the matter given Huang's seat on a presidential advisory council.