The board of directors of US chipmaker Nvidia has launched an investigation into company chief Jensen Huang after he acknowledged a relationship with a woman who, according to US authorities, worked for Chinese intelligence. Huang, a central figure in the artificial intelligence industry and an informal adviser to President Donald Trump, apologized in an internal message to the workforce and admitted to being unfaithful to his wife.
The woman is known as Alice Huang; her real name is reportedly Huang Le. According to the company, there are no family ties to the Nvidia chief. The connection to Chinese intelligence was first reported by the New York Times at the end of October. The woman is also linked to Megaspeed, a Singapore-based operator of data centers. This company is reportedly under investigation by authorities for allegedly helping to smuggle Nvidia AI chips into China.
According to the reports, what is particularly explosive is that Trump was allegedly informed about the relationship about a year earlier, yet no consequences were drawn. The concern is that the woman could have passed on the US president's positions on his AI policy to Beijing. A summit between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen is expected to address artificial intelligence, among other topics. The government in Beijing has dismissed the report as baseless speculation.
Nvidia stated that there is no evidence that national security or trade secrets have been compromised. An independent investigation will now review all available information. Analysts expect Huang to remain in his position in the short term. However, his removal cannot be ruled out and depends on the outcome of the board's investigation.
According to observers, the scandal is likely to trigger parliamentary inquiries and create uncertainty for the stock. Stricter US controls on chip sales to China are also considered likely. The affair comes at a time when Nvidia is expanding its presence in Asia. At the Nvidia AI Day in Seoul, which drew around 2,000 participants, the company signed cooperation agreements with South Korean companies SK Telecom, Rebellions and Kakao Mobility. Madison Huang, the CEO's daughter, canceled her trip to Seoul for family reasons.
A South Korean deputy minister stated that the supply of Nvidia chips has not been interrupted. The company had also recently invested one billion US dollars in the South Korean internet group Naver. It remains unclear whether the board's investigation will actually remove Huang from his position. Until a result is reached, the question of how deep the ties to China run is likely to shape the debate over Nvidia's business and US chip policy.