Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an extramarital affair as his company announced it will investigate reports he was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort.”
The separate statements come amid growing concern over Huang’s close relationship with an executive from Singapore-based tech company Megaspeed, Alice Huang. Several US outlets have reported that American officials suspect Alice Huang, no relation, has fed intelligence to China and helped smuggle advanced artificial intelligence chips into the country.
The controversy could undermine faith in the world’s second-largest company and a poster child for the AI boom, at a time when the US and China are racing to surpass the other in technological supremacy.
In a note to Nvidia staff, Huang said that he was “unfaithful” and hurt his wife and children. He did not name the other person in the affair.
“I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it,” Huang, 63, said, adding that he supports Nvidia’s investigation. “I am committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security.”
Meanwhile, the company said in a Sunday press release that a committee of independent directors and outside counsel will oversee its investigation.
“The Board prioritizes US national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders,” the statement said. But, the board “has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.”
In a note, Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at merchant bank Yorkville & Ives Co., called the news “a black eye moment for Jensen” that will increase scrutiny of chip sales to China, which Huang has previously lobbied for.
