NVIDIA announced on Sunday that its board of directors is launching a full-scale independent investigation into reports of founder and CEO Jensen Huang having a relationship with a woman the U.S. intelligence community believes is an agent of the Chinese state. The New York Times recently broke the story that Jensen had engaged in a close relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed. Megaspeed is believed to be helping evade U.S. export controls on NVIDIA chips for Chinese companies, allowing them to use banned chips.
Its network of sister companies is building data centers in Malaysia to satisfy the compute needs of Chinese customers. The NYT report notes that China's Ministry of State Security reportedly recruited Alice Huang to extract information from Jensen Huang. NVIDIA's Board stated it prioritizes U.S. national and economic security.
While the Board has no reason to believe secrets were compromised, the inquiry will examine all available information. Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating. The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team.
In a follow-up note, Jensen officially admitted to infidelity in his marriage and confirmed he is cooperating with the investigation. He remains CEO for now. Jensen stated, "I was unfaithful to my wife.
My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry." Regarding national security concerns, NVIDIA's Board has initiated an independent investigation.
Jensen supports the investigation and will cooperate fully. It remains uncertain whether the investigation will lead to his removal or retention of his position.
Source: TechPowerUp News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing