Nvidia announced Sunday it is launching an independent investigation into its chief executive and founder, Jensen Huang, over concerns he was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort.”
The statement, published on the company’s website, comes after US officials have expressed concern over Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, an executive of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company. (The two are not related.)
Separately, Jensen Huang admitted having an extramarital affair in a note to staff, though he did not name the other person in the affair.
The Financial Times previously reported that US intelligence provided information to US officials that the two were in a romantic relationship, according to unnamed people familiar with a memo on the intelligence, the FT reported. Nvidia is the world’s leading chipmaker amid the AI boom and has a market capitalization of about $4.5 trillion.
The company previously said in a statement that Jensen Huang’s meetings were “not unusual or unexpected. Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year.” It added that any concerns about illegal chip diversion were “debunked last year.”
Nvidia said a committee of independent directors and outside counsel will oversee its investigation.
“The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders,” the company said. But, 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.”
“Today’s news will not slow NVIDIA. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption,” a spokesperson for Nvidia told CNN.
Huang, 63, said that he was “unfaithful” and hurt his wife and children in the note to Nvidia staff.
“I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it,” Huang said, adding that he supports Nvidia’s investigation. “I am committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security.”
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has not spoken to Huang after Nvidia announced the investigation, but that he “probably has an excuse for it.”
“I have not spoken to him about it. I just know he’s a fine person, but you never know what is going on,” Trump told reporters as he left Florida.
Trump also mused that he “probably has an excuse for it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters Sunday in Florida,declined to comment on the Nvidia situation.
On Thursday, Republican chairmen of three influential House panels — the committees on Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Communist Party and Intelligence — said in a news release that they sent a letter to Huang “requesting that he appear before their committees for a joint, closed-door briefing on Huang’s interactions with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, a publicly reported People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence asset, and NVIDIA’s security protocols against foreign adversary espionage.”
“Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the PRC’s access to sensitive U.S. technology and information,” the chairmen wrote. “The issue of PRC infiltration and access to cutting-edge U.S. technology is core to the investigative work of our three committees this Congress.”
In a note, Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville & Ives Co., called the news “a black eye moment for Jensen and will spark multiple congressional inquiries at a minimum and will create an overhang on the stock for a myriad of reasons.”
“The key question investors will be asking is: Will Jensen remain CEO of Nvidia?” he said.
Ives also said the investigation “would increase major scrutiny regarding selling chips to China.”
This story has been updated with additional content.
CNN’s Logan Schiciano and Molly English contributed to this report.