Nvidia board opens independent inquiry after reports Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence

Nvidia's board says it is starting an independent investigation after recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the inquiry, the board said in a November 8 statement.

The board says it has no reason to believe secrets were compromised. "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 statement said. It also said Jensen fully supports the review, has committed to cooperating, and that the board has confidence in him and his leadership team.

Huang told staff he was unfaithful. CNBC reported that Huang told Nvidia staff in a Sunday email that he had an affair and that the board had opened an independent investigation into allegations that the woman is a Chinese spy. "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did," Huang wrote, according to CNBC. "I am deeply sorry." An Nvidia spokesperson told CNBC that Huang was committed to continuing as CEO without interruption.

The spy allegations are reported, not proven here. CNBC, citing The New York Times and the Financial Times, said U.S. intelligence agencies have expressed concerns that the woman, identified in those reports as Alice Huang, has been passing information to Beijing. CNBC also said she is affiliated with cloud company and Nvidia customer Megaspeed, which has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies acquire Nvidia AI chips; Nvidia representatives previously said Megaspeed had already been investigated for export-control evasion, according to CNBC. Those are allegations from reporting and agencies, not findings from Nvidia's board. House chairs had already asked Huang for a Nov. 18 briefing on the reported link.