Nvidia probes CEO's relationship with alleged Chinese spy

Nvidia's board announced Sunday that it is launching an independent investigation into reports that CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence operation. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the inquiry. While the board stated it has no reason to believe Nvidia secrets or U.S. national security were compromised, the investigation will examine all available information.

The probe follows reports from the New York Times alleging that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of the Singapore-based company Megaspeed. The New York Times reported that U.S. authorities investigated Alice Huang and concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset. The Jerusalem Post noted that Megaspeed has been scrutinized over suspicions it helped Beijing gain access to advanced AI chips that are barred from shipment to China.

XDA Developers reported that unnamed sources claim American surveillance uncovered Alice Huang worked for Beijing’s Ministry of State Security, which believed she could help the agency gain information about intelligence chips or convince Huang to ship sophisticated semiconductors to China.

In a message to employees, Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife, stating, "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry." He expressed that he had fallen short of his responsibilities to the company's employees, board, and shareholders. Huang has pledged to cooperate fully with the investigation and will remain CEO during the process.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, The Korea Times, MyJoyOnline Ghana, Jerusalem Post, XDA Developers — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.