Nvidia is opening an investigation into reports that CEO Jensen Huang was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort,” the company’s board of directors said on Sunday.
The announcement came after Huang told the board he had been intimate with a business executive whom, according to The New York Times, US intelligence determined was gathering information for Beijing.
In a letter to Nvidia employees obtained by The Associated Press, Huang said he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologised to his family and colleagues. He said he took “full responsibility” for his actions.
“Leading Nvidia is the privilege of my life,” Huang wrote. “My responsibility is to serve you and be worthy of your trust. I have fallen short of that responsibility.”
Nvidia’s board said it has “no reason to believe” that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information. Huang “fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it,” the board said.
Huang, 63, will remain CEO during the investigation.
“Today’s news will not slow Nvidia,” company spokesperson John Rizzo said in a statement. “Jensen is committed to continuing to lead Nvidia as CEO without interruption.”
Meanwhile, China denied on Monday that it engaged in an attempt to ensnare Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, saying the spying allegations were unsubstantiated and a smear campaign against Beijing.
Nvidia has become a central player in the global race to develop artificial intelligence, with its chips powering many of the data centres and computing systems used to train and run AI models. Its advanced processors have also been a focus of US export restrictions aimed at limiting China’s access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology.
The Times reported last month that US intelligence agencies discovered Huang had developed a close relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and chip buyer, and determined she was feeding information directly to Beijing. The Times says the two are not related.
Alice Huang was previously a television reporter in China before becoming a top executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed, one of Nvidia’s biggest customers in Southeast Asia. Megaspeed bought more than USD 4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years, according to the Times.
The Nvidia CEO’s letter to employees did not name Alice Huang or address her apparent ties to Beijing. He did, however, refer to the national security concerns raised in news reports and said he supported the board’s investigation and would cooperate fully.