Nvidia’s board of directors has opened an independent investigation into reports that founder and chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort, the company said on Sunday, November 8. The move came hours after Huang told staff in a memo that he was unfaithful to his wife, an admission reported by Bloomberg.

The board said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the inquiry. “The NVIDIA Board is initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” the board said in a statement issued on November 8. “While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information.”

The board added that Huang supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it, and that it has confidence in him and his leadership team. Huang, 63, will remain chief executive while the investigation runs, according to reports.

What Huang told staff

In a memo to Nvidia employees on Sunday, Huang said he was unfaithful to his wife and apologized, according to Bloomberg. “I was unfaithful to my wife,” Huang wrote, adding that his actions hurt his wife and children. Bloomberg reported that Huang told staff he was “deeply sorry” for the affair.

The admission followed a Financial Times report on November 6 that a U.S. intelligence memo describes a romantic relationship between Huang and Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Nvidia customer Megaspeed. The memo, according to the report, says Alice Huang was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to watch Nvidia’s chief executive.

Nvidia headquarters building in Santa Clara, California

Nvidia’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Photo: Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How the story reached this point

U.S. intelligence agencies believe Alice Huang was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to gather information about Huang, the New York Times reported on October 29. GPTOnline reported on November 7 that U.S. intelligence agencies had reached that conclusion, the sharpest American assessment yet in a case that began with the Times report.

Nvidia has said its dealings with Megaspeed were proper, that its interactions with Alice Huang were normal customer meetings, and that it checked whether its AI processors had been diverted to China. China’s foreign ministry has called the reports a baseless smear. No charges have been brought against Huang, Nvidia, or Megaspeed staff, and the intelligence memo itself has not been made public.

Three Republican chairs of House committees have asked Huang to brief them behind closed doors on November 18, and Huang has until November 11 to say whether he will attend, according to reports.

Nvidia sign outside the company's Santa Clara campus

The Nvidia sign outside the company’s Santa Clara campus. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Why it matters

The Nvidia board probe turns a press investigation into a formal governance matter at the company whose chips power most of the world’s AI training. Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it ever since, and Bloomberg has noted that the company has no public succession plan and no obvious heir apparent.

For now, the board has drawn a clear line: it says it has no reason to believe secrets were compromised, it backs its chief executive, and it will provide further updates as appropriate. The open questions are what the independent review finds, and what Huang tells Congress on November 18, if he attends.

Sources