Nvidia's board said Sunday it had begun an independent investigation into whether founder and chief executive Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence operation. A panel of independent directors, supported by outside counsel, will run the inquiry. The board said it had "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised," but it would examine all available information. Huang "fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it," according to the statement. The board also expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team.
A report in the Financial Times on Saturday said a U.S. government memo, based on intelligence, described a romantic involvement between Huang and Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. U.S. intelligence believes she was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. Nvidia declined to comment to the Financial Times on the memo.
According to a New York Times investigation last month, U.S. intelligence agencies determined that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen also known as Huang Le, was a Chinese intelligence asset, and surveillance showed a close relationship with Jensen Huang. According to the Times, President Donald Trump learned of the findings about a year earlier and chose not to act. The newspaper said U.S. officials believed Megaspeed helped Chinese companies evade curbs on advanced AI chips, and that the Commerce Department had handed its probe of the company to the Justice Department. Trade records cited by the Times show that Megaspeed's sister company in Malaysia bought at least $4.8 billion of AI equipment containing Nvidia chips from June 2024 to February 2026.
In a letter to employees obtained by The Associated Press, Huang apologized to his family and colleagues for being unfaithful to his wife and said he took "full responsibility." A copy published by CNBC included the lines: "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did". He added: "Leading Nvidia is the privilege of my life. My responsibility is to serve you and be worthy of your trust. I have fallen short of that responsibility." Huang said he backed the board's inquiry and would fully cooperate. The letter did not mention Alice Huang by name or address her apparent links to Beijing.
Huang, 63, will stay on as CEO during the investigation. A company spokesperson, John Rizzo, said in a statement: "Today's news will not slow Nvidia. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead Nvidia as CEO without interruption". In premarket trading early Monday, Nvidia's stock fell 5% to $177.32, down from Friday's close of $186.64, Yahoo Finance data showed.
Lawmakers from both parties sought answers. Senior Republicans asked Huang to meet privately with the House committees on China, foreign affairs, and intelligence, the Financial Times reported. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware tweeted that "Congress will investigate and get answers." President Trump said Sunday he had not spoken to Huang and praised him, saying he had done "such an incredible job." Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he could not comment on what he called an internal corporate matter.
The Times reported that Nvidia described Huang's interactions with Ms. Huang as "not unusual or unexpected," and said customers like Megaspeed receive "ordinary business information." Megaspeed engaged outside counsel for an internal investigation. Ms. Huang did not reply to the newspaper's requests for comment, and the Chinese embassy in Washington dismissed the allegations as "groundless smears and slanders".
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Inès Moreau covers how companies are run and how people work for Venturist. She writes from company announcements, surveys and published reporting.