Nvidia board probes whether CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence
Chip boss admits affair with alleged Chinese spy in staff memo, Trump says he probably has an excuse for it and wants him to stay
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Jensen Huang with Alice Huang (right) in Taiwan. The pair have been described as 'very close' - NowNews
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Megaspeed International executive Alice Huang (center left) with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang (center right) at a bar in Taipei, Taiwan, in June 2024. /Photo: LinkedIn
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Nvidia's board has ordered an independent investigation into whether chief executive Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, days after the Financial Times reported that US intelligence believes he had a romantic relationship with an alleged Chinese spy. Huang, 63, admitted an extramarital affair in a memo to staff. Donald Trump, asked about the matter, said "He probably has an excuse for it" and that Huang should stay on as chief executive.
The board said Sunday afternoon that a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will examine all available information. The same statement declared that the board "has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised" and affirmed its confidence in Huang and his leadership team. The verdict preceded the evidence.
Huang's apology spends as much time on national security as on his marriage. "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did," he wrote, before turning to his love of country and company, his commitment to protecting Nvidia and supporting America's national security, and his pride and gratitude at being an American. The infidelity gets the apology; the rest of the memo is addressed to Washington.
The woman, named in reports as Alice Huang, was described by Taiwan's NowNews as "very close" to the chief executive, which published a photograph of the pair in Taiwan. Nvidia's first line of defence was that the interactions were "not unusual," and Huang told Bloomberg last month that his dealings with her were "normal." Within weeks, "normal" had become an independent board investigation into the foreign targeting of the company's chief executive.
The board's room for manoeuvre is narrow. Nvidia has no public succession plan and no obvious heir apparent, and its market value has hit record levels. A board that cannot name a replacement is poorly placed to threaten the man it cannot replace — and the White House has settled the question in advance, with the president endorsing Huang's continuation in the job before the committee has anything to report.
Huang closed his memo with a promise to earn back confidence. His board opened its investigation by expressing it.