Against the backdrop of reports that its CEO, Jensen Huang, was targeted by a Chinese espionage operation, the American company NVIDIA announced the opening of an independent investigation, coinciding with Huang’s admission of having an extramarital relationship and offering an apology to his family and the company’s employees. While Nvidia confirmed that there were no indications that its secrets were at risk, analysts warned of the repercussions of the case on Huang's future in office, while Beijing denied the accusations and US President Donald Trump expressed his support for him.
Published on: 09/11/2026 - 01:30
The American chip manufacturer Nvidia announced the opening of an independent internal investigation, following media reports that its CEO, Jensen Huang, was the target of a Chinese espionage operation, coinciding with his admission of having an extramarital affair.
The company's board of directors explained in a statement that the investigation comes against the backdrop of press reports that talked about targeting NVIDIA's founder and CEO by foreign intelligence operations, without specifying the country in question.
The board affirmed its confidence in Huang and his management team, noting that a committee of independent board members, with the assistance of external legal advisors, would oversee the investigation, with which Huang pledged to cooperate.
He stressed that American national and economic security are a priority for the company, stressing that he sees no reason to believe that the company's national security or secrets have been exposed to danger.
The American New York Times reported that US intelligence officials concluded that a Chinese executive linked to the Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed was working for Chinese intelligence and transmitting information to Beijing.
In a letter published on Sunday and addressed to NVIDIA employees, its board of directors, partners and shareholders around the world, Huang admitted to having an emotional relationship outside of marriage, offering his apologies to his family and the company’s workers.
"I cheated on my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am very sorry," he said, stressing at the same time his full commitment to Nvidia.
For his part, a company spokesman confirmed that the recent developments will not discourage NVIDIA, indicating that Huang is determined to continue his duties as CEO.
On the other hand, analyst Dan Ives, director of Yorkville Ives, warned of the repercussions of the case, considering that it would lead, at the very least, to a series of investigations in Congress, as well as the company incurring major losses and potentially threatening Huang’s position in the long term.
On the official level, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined on Sunday to comment on the reports, considering the matter “an internal matter related to the company.”
While China described the reports as "baseless speculation," US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Huang, calling him a "genius."
The president of NVIDIA accompanied Trump as part of a delegation of businessmen during his visit to Beijing last May to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
In a related context, the Financial Times reported earlier this week that Nvidia had issued instructions to its partners in data centers to restrict their dealings with Chinese customers.
The newspaper quoted five informed sources as saying that Nvidia's clients in the cloud computing sector are now required to sell no less than 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies.
France 24/AFP
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