Nvidia opens investigation after report CEO Jensen Huang was target of foreign intelligence

Nvidia announced on Sunday that its board of directors is initiating an independent investigation following reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The inquiry, which will be conducted by board members and external investigators, follows allegations that Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman who passed information to Beijing.

While Nvidia stated it has no reason to believe US national security or company secrets were compromised, the investigation will examine all available information.

According to Axios, a draft email sent by Mr. Huang to employees contains an admission that he had a romantic relationship with a suspected Chinese spy. In the email, Mr. Huang stated he was unfaithful to his wife and took full responsibility for his actions. Handelsblatt reports that the board maintains confidence in Huang and his leadership team, noting that previous company statements had described the contacts as routine interactions with a representative of an Nvidia customer.

Top Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have called for Mr. Huang to brief Congress this month regarding a New York Times report from October concerning the matter. The National UAE reports that Mr. Huang supports the independent investigation announced by the board.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Guardian, Japan Today, The National UAE, ABC News AU, Handelsblatt — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.