NVIDIA opens probe into CEO Jensen Huang after reports of alleged relationship with Chinese-linked businesswoman
The company launched an internal investigation after reports linked Huang’s relationship to a Singapore-based businesswoman alleged to have ties to Chinese intelligence.
NVIDIA has opened an internal investigation into its founder and chief executive officer, Jensen Huang, after media reports alleged he was involved in a romantic relationship with a Singapore-based businesswoman suspected of passing information to Beijing. Huang told NVIDIA staff that he had been unfaithful to his wife, without providing further details about the relationship.
The inquiry has raised immediate questions about Huang’s future at the helm of the world’s most valuable chipmaker. The fallout spread to South Korea, where his daughter, Madison Huang, and an NVIDIA executive canceled a planned visit to Seoul for the company conference that was scheduled to begin today.
Company statement and apology
NVIDIA’s board said it will investigate recent reports claiming the founder and CEO was the target of foreign intelligence activity. "The board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is of paramount importance to NVIDIA's interests. Although the board has no reason to believe that national security or NVIDIA's secrets were compromised, the investigation will examine all available information. Jensen Huang fully supports the investigation and has committed to cooperate with it," the board said.
Huang sent a message to employees acknowledging he had been unfaithful and apologizing for the harm to his family. "There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry," he wrote.
Reports last month said Huang had been involved with Alice Hwang, the former chief executive of a Singapore-based firm called Megasped, who U.S. authorities have investigated and concluded had links to Chinese intelligence. End-of-October accounts indicated that former U.S. President Donald Trump was informed last year of intelligence alleging that the businesswoman had spied for China and that communications had been identified between the suspected agent and an American citizen later identified as Jensen Huang.
NVIDIA, valued at about $4.5 trillion, is a leading supplier of advanced computer chips whose products are central to the competition between the United States and China in artificial intelligence.
Photo: DPA)
