Nvidia board investigates whether CEO Jensen Huang was a target of Chinese spying

Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation into whether its chief executive, Jensen Huang, was the target of a foreign intelligence operation, the company said on 9 November.

The inquiry follows a New York Times report in October that Mr. Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of Megaspeed, a Singapore company that buys Nvidia’s artificial-intelligence chips. The newspaper reported that US authorities had concluded she was working for Chinese intelligence. The two are not related.

Nvidia is the world’s most valuable chipmaker. US rules have barred the sale of its most advanced chips to China since 2022.

What Nvidia and Mr. Huang said

A committee of independent directors, helped by outside lawyers, will run the inquiry, the board said. It said it had no reason to believe that US national security or company secrets had been compromised, and that it had confidence in Mr. Huang.

In a message to employees, Mr. Huang admitted cheating on his wife and said he took full responsibility. “There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” he wrote. He said he would cooperate with the review and keep leading the company.

The reactions

China’s Foreign Ministry said the spying claims were unfounded and a smear against China. US President Donald Trump said he had not spoken to Mr. Huang and called him “an honourable guy”.

Senior Republicans in the US House of Representatives had already asked Mr. Huang, in a letter dated 4 November, to brief Congress on the report. US authorities have also been looking into whether Megaspeed helped China obtain chips it is not allowed to buy.

Nvidia’s shares fell after the board’s statement. The company has not said when the investigation will finish.