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Nvidia has launched an independent investigation after its CEO Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.
Nvidia, which is considered one of the world's most valuable companies, added that its board of directors had no grounds to believe that company secrets or national security had been violated, and that CEO Hwang was committed to continuing to lead the company.
Separately, Jensen Huang admitted he had been "unfaithful" to his wife and apologized for hurting her and their children with his actions.
According to a New York Times report, U.S. intelligence officials reportedly determined that Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman who had a close relationship with Jensen Huang, was a spy working for the Chinese government.
Jensen Huang said he "takes full responsibility" for his actions. At the same time, he said he failed to fulfill his responsibilities to Nvidia's employees, board of directors, and shareholders.
NVIDIA is one of the world's largest companies and is considered a key company that produces hardware needed for next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Jensen Huang has led the company for over 30 years.
CEO Hwang said he was "unfaithful to my wife" and "my actions hurt my wife and children. There is no excuse for what I did. I sincerely apologize."
He added, "NVIDIA's board of directors has launched an independent investigation regarding the national security concerns raised in media reports. We support this investigation and will fully cooperate with it."
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CEO Hwang also said, "I love my country and my company. I promise to protect NVIDIA and contribute to protecting America's national security. I am proud and grateful to be an American."
Nvidia's board of directors said in a separate statement that it would launch an investigation "following recent reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence operation."
“We place the national and economic security of the United States as our top priority, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and our shareholders,” the board continued.
They added, "There is no basis to believe that national security or NVIDIA's confidentiality has been violated, but the board will review all information that can be obtained during the investigation."
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had not spoken with Nvidia's CEO since news of this investigation became known.
“I just know he’s a great guy,” Trump told reporters, “but I don’t know what’s going on.”
He added that CEO Hwang “has done amazing things for America.”
At the end of October, the New York Times reported that President Trump had received information about Alice Huang's spying activities in China last year.
When reporters asked on the 8th whether he thought "action should have been taken" based on the information at the time, President Trump responded, "No, I don't think so. I think he is an honorable man."
China previously denied allegations that it had conducted espionage activities targeting Nvidia's CEO, dismissing the claims as "baseless speculation."
Jensen Huang is the person who saved Nvidia from bankruptcy several times, and has been investing boldly in AI long before the world took notice.
His decision to develop NVIDIA's semiconductors, originally designed for gaming, into industry-leading products in the field of AI development has today yielded tremendous results. Currently, Nvidia's corporate value is in the trillions of dollars.
The allegations are expected to be a huge blow to CEO Hwang, who is known to be a perfectionist and workaholic who has demanded extremely high levels of work performance from his employees.
Alice Huang is not related to Jensen Huang. Alice Huang is associated with Megaspeed, a data center company based in Singapore.
In a statement sent to the New York Times last month, Megaspeed said that its current management was taking the allegations seriously and had appointed an external legal advisor to conduct an internal investigation.
NVIDIA is a key company in the AI infrastructure field and supplies semiconductors to major AI model development companies, including OpenAI and Meta.
The semiconductor manufacturer's corporate value is approximately $4.5 trillion (approximately 6,100 trillion won), making it one of the most valuable companies of all time.
According to anonymous sources cited by the New York Times, U.S. intelligence agencies have been monitoring Alice Huang and have concluded that she is working for the Chinese government.
According to reports, communications records between Alice Huang and a U.S. citizen were captured during the surveillance process. Afterwards, through a process called 'unmasking', the US citizen was identified as Jensen Huang.
It is not yet clear what information Alice Huang, also known as 'Huang Le', conveyed to the Chinese government, how valuable the information was, and when she is believed to have started collecting information.
Alice Huang did not respond to a request for comment from The New York Times.
Last week, members of Congress sent a letter to Jensen Huang asking him to appear before Congress in response to reports about their relationship.
Considering the reported relationship with Alice Hwang, three Republican House standing committee chairs requested that CEO Hwang appear before Congress at the end of this month to explain Nvidia's "security procedures in preparation for espionage activities by foreign hostile forces."
“Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding China’s potential access to sensitive U.S. technology and information,” the letter said. “Chinese infiltration and access to advanced U.S. technology are central to the investigative work of our three committees this session.”
NVIDIA's AI semiconductor is one of the main issues in the competition for hegemony between the United States and China.
The U.S. government has previously taken measures to restrict the countries and regions in which Nvidia's cutting-edge products can be sold.
H200, known as Nvidia's second-highest performing semiconductor, was previously subject to export restrictions by the U.S. government due to concerns that China's technology industry could outpace that of the United States.
However, in January, the Trump administration announced that it would allow Nvidia to sell H200 semiconductors to Chinese customers if certain conditions are met.
