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Nvidia CEO investigated over affair with alleged Chinese spy

Summarised from 19 outlets · 43 reports · Updated 10 Nov, 06:08 · Archive

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman US intelligence believes is a Chinese spy.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted over the weekend to being unfaithful to his wife. In an open letter to staff, Huang apologised for his actions but did not initially identify the woman involved. He said he supports an investigation and will cooperate fully, and reiterated his commitment to protecting the company and supporting American national security.

The New York Times reported that Huang had an affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based cloud computing and data centre company. US intelligence officials have concluded that Alice Huang is a Chinese spy working for Beijing's Ministry of State Security. Megaspeed has previously been suspected of illicitly shipping restricted Nvidia chips to China in breach of US export controls, and it became the largest buyer of Nvidia's chips in south-east Asia.

Nvidia announced on Sunday that it had commissioned an independent investigation into the matter. The company's board said it had no reason to believe that national security or company secrets were compromised, but that the inquiry would examine all available information. Nvidia shares fell more than 4 per cent on Monday, wiping approximately $190 billion to $200 billion from the company's market value before recovering slightly.

Three powerful House committee chairs wrote to Huang demanding he appear before them on 18 November in a closed-door meeting to answer questions about his security protocols and interactions with Alice Huang. The chairs cited significant national security concerns regarding the People's Republic of China's access to sensitive US technology and information. Some Republican lawmakers have also pushed the Trump administration to withdraw approval of Nvidia chip sales to China, with one congressman calling for an immediate pause on shipments of advanced AI chips to the country pending further investigation.

President Trump said on Monday that he had spoken with Huang earlier that day. Trump told reporters that Huang said he had "absolutely no idea" the woman was a spy, and that Trump believed him. Trump also said the FBI was investigating the affair but did not elaborate on the timing or scope of the probe. Asked when he first became aware of concerns about the relationship, Trump said it was "not too long ago" but that he had been hearing and reading about it over time. Trump described Huang as a "very honourable man" and expressed confidence that "he will be in good shape".

China's foreign ministry rejected the espionage allegations as "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China". A spokesman said the allegation was "unsubstantiated".

Shareholders filed a class action lawsuit against Nvidia and Huang on Monday, accusing them of defrauding investors by concealing the relationship and failing to disclose national security concerns that threatened the company's reputation and business prospects. The lawsuit was filed five minutes after US markets closed. Nvidia declined to comment when contacted about the suit. Huang, who founded Nvidia in 1993, earned $36 million last year and owned approximately 3.5 per cent of the company as of March, according to corporate filings. He is an at-will employee who can be terminated without severance.

Nvidia CEO investigated over affair with alleged Chinese spy
Image: Independent Tech

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In this story: Jensen Huang · Alice Huang · Nvidia · Megaspeed International · Donald Trump · China · United States · Singapore

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log