Nvidia perps slide as market reacts to CEO Jensen Huang’s Chinese spy scandal

Nvidia's board of directors has launched an independent investigation into CEO and cofounder Jensen Huang regarding his relationship with a woman identified by intelligence officials as a Chinese spy. Economic Times Tech reports that Huang admitted to an affair with Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, who is suspected of working for Chinese intelligence. In a message to employees, Huang apologized for being unfaithful to his wife and taking responsibility for his actions.

The investigation will be overseen by a committee of independent directors assisted by outside counsel. While the board stated it has no reason to believe that Nvidia secrets or national security were compromised, VnExpress Business reports that the inquiry was initiated following reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.

According to VnExpress Business, Alice Huang is an unrelated former executive of the Singapore-based company Megaspeed, a firm that has faced U.S. scrutiny over suspicions it helped Beijing access advanced AI chips.

Nvidia stated that Huang is committed to cooperating with the review and that the company has confidence in his leadership. The company added that the CEO is committed to continuing to lead without interruption. VnExpress Business noted that the developments may pressure the chipmaker's stock and raise questions regarding Huang's future at the company.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Block, Economic Times Tech, VnExpress Business — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.