Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang investigation, Digi Mart USA News: Chipmaker Nvidia has begun an independent investigation into the intimate relationship of CEO Jensen Huang with a woman whom U.S. intelligence agencies say was recruited by Chinese intelligence for espionage.
The company said in a press release following reporting by The New York Times and the Financial Times (FT).
According to those reports, the woman, identified as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is an executive at Megaspeed, a Singaporean customer of Nvidia. The reports said she attempted to obtain chip secrets from the Nvidia CEO on behalf of Chinese intelligence services and had been under the scrutiny of U.S.
intelligence agencies for about a year.
Nvidia’s board said in its statement that there is no reason to believe the company’s national security or trade secrets have been compromised. A memo shared with a small group of U.S.
officials before President Trump traveled to Beijing in May to meet Chinese leader Xi reportedly raised the possibility that she was a Chinese spy.
Megaspeed is one of Nvidia’s largest customers in Southeast Asia and purchased more than $4.8 billion in chips over the past two years, according to The New York Times. Last year, the U.S.
accused Megaspeed of smuggling advanced Nvidia chips to China, and a Commerce Department employee reportedly found boxes of Nvidia equipment still packed in a Megaspeed data center in Malaysia. Nvidia said there was no evidence of irregularities, and the U.S.
Department of Justice is still investigating the matter.
Huang has also reportedly this year sought to persuade Trump to allow advanced chip exports to China, which the U.S. has restricted over concerns that it could help the Chinese military modernize faster and develop AI models.
Nvidia had previously said there was nothing unusual about the relationship, noting that its CEO meets thousands of customers each year.
Images of Huang and the woman together, including scenes of them drinking whisky and dining at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, have circulated on social media. In a message to the board, Huang acknowledged that he cheated on his wife and said he takes full responsibility.
A spokesperson said Huang will remain in his role and cooperate with the investigation. “I remain fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back your trust,” Huang said.
Nvidia, with a market value of nearly $5 trillion, is one of the world’s most valuable companies. Its chips are essential to the development of artificial intelligence.
