Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted an extramarital affair as the chipmaker investigates reported allegations that a Chinese businesswoman close to him may have worked for Beijing’s intelligence services. US President Donald Trump has said the FBI is also looking into the matter.
According to the South China Morning Post, the chipmaker is probing the allegations, which were first reported by The New York Times and the Financial Times citing unnamed US intelligence officials. The reports say US intelligence officials believe China may have recruited the businesswoman to gather information on Nvidia. Beijing denies this.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the allegations "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China," according to Al Jazeera.
Nvidia’s board launched an inquiry on Sunday into Huang’s relationship, pledging to examine "all available information" while expressing confidence in the CEO, Al Jazeera reported. The company said it had no reason to believe company secrets or US national security were compromised, according to the South China Morning Post. The controversy wiped about US$190 billion off the chipmaker’s market value in a single day, the same outlet reported.
Trump said on Monday that Huang told him he had no idea the woman was a spy, and that he believed him, according to Dawn. Reports differ on what Trump said about the FBI. The South China Morning Post reports that Trump said the FBI was investigating the issue. Dawn reports that Trump said the FBI was looking into "something else," and that the FBI declined to comment on Monday when AFP asked it to clarify.
The businesswoman, named in the New York Times and Financial Times reports as Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive, has not publicly commented. Huang has long lobbied against restrictions on high-end chip sales to China. US lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren, Jim Banks and Bill Foster, have invoked the case in pushing chip export bills. Trump has also built a close relationship with Huang and said in December that he had approved H200 chip sales to China, with 25 percent of sales paid to the US government.
Lawmakers are pushing the AI Overwatch Act and the Chip Security Act. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet at the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week.
Several key points remain unconfirmed. The FBI has not confirmed an investigation, the espionage claims rest on unnamed officials as reported by other outlets, and no US intelligence official or Nvidia statement on the claims is quoted directly in these sources. The outcome of Nvidia’s board inquiry is not yet known.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.