Nvidia Investigates CEO Jensen Huang’s Relationship with Alleged Chinese Spy
By Kif Leswing, Kamaron McNair
KEY POINTS
- CEO Jensen Huang told Nvidia staff in an email that he had an affair and that the company’s board has opened an independent investigation into allegations that the woman is a Chinese spy.
- U.S. intelligence agencies have expressed concerns that the woman, Alice Huang, has been passing information to Beijing, according to reports.
- Ms. Huang is affiliated with a cloud company and an Nvidia customer called Megaspeed, which has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies acquire Nvidia AI chips.
Nvidia has opened an investigation into co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a businesswoman who intelligence agencies say is a Chinese spy.
U.S. intelligence agencies have expressed concerns that the woman, Alice Huang, who is affiliated with a cloud company and an Nvidia customer called Megaspeed, has been passing information to Beijing, according to reports in The New York Times and the Financial Times.
Huang told Nvidia staff in an email on Sunday that he had an affair with the woman and that Nvidia’s board of directors had opened an independent investigation into the spying allegations.
“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did,” Huang wrote in the message. “I am deeply sorry.”
An Nvidia spokesperson said that Huang was committed to continuing as CEO of Nvidia without interruption.
In a statement, the Nvidia board said it would investigate the allegations that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
“While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information,” Nvidia’s board said in a statement.
Read Huang’s email to Nvidia employees and the company board of directors’ statement here.
The allegations come as Nvidia has become the center of a trade dispute between China and the U.S. as AI is seen as increasingly critical to national security.
The U.S. restricts exports of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China, though it has approved exports of certain older, slower models.
Megaspeed, which Ms. Huang is affiliated with, has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies acquire Nvidia AI chips. Nvidia representatives previously said that Megaspeed had already been investigated for evading export controls.
Nvidia’s Huang has pushed for broader AI chip exports to China, saying it is better for the U.S. if the world uses and builds on American technology. He has also aligned with President Donald Trump on American artificial intelligence policy and its infrastructure buildout.
In his note to staff, Huang said he was “proud and grateful” to be an American.
Three House Republican committee chairs sent a letter to Huang on Wednesday asking him to sit for a closed-door briefing with lawmakers on Nov. 18.
Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings on Nov. 17 and will hold a major conference in Washington, D.C., at the end of the month.
