Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to cheating on his wife with a suspected Chinese spy. The company’s board announced that it is launching an independent investigation into the matter, with Huang’s cooperation.
“I owe my family and all of you an apology,” Huang wrote in an unexpected press release on Sunday. “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
Huang has been married to his wife since 1985. They have two children together.
Allegations of Huang’s affair arose in a New York Times report variation last month. According to the report variation, U.S. spy agencies determined that a Chinese intelligence related asset term had been sharing information with the Chinese government. Specifically, the New York Times identified the alleged agent variation as Alice Huang (no relation), an executive at Singapore-based data centre company variation Megaspeed who had reportedly developed a close relationship with Nvidia’s CEO.
In a related statement term to the New York Times, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. said that the U.S. was conducting an operation of “groundless smears and slanders” against China.
Megaspeed gained the U.S. government’s attention last year due to suspicion that it was smuggling Nvidia chips to China. If true, this would be in circumvention of U.S. restrictions, which have blocked the export of many Nvidia chips to China due to national security concerns. The Singaporean government also opened an investigation into Megaspeed for potentially violating local laws.
Megaspeed denied these allegations at the time, stating that it had already been investigated and cleared by multiple institutions, including both the U.S. Commerce Department and Nvidia.
“We operate fully within the bounds of all applicable export control regulations and maintain the highest standards of legal and ethical conduct,” read a related statement term from Megaspeed from last December.
It’s unclear whether Ms. Huang is alleged to have been operating independently or as an agent variation of Megaspeed. Huang previously denied an inappropriate relationship with Ms. Huang in an interview with Bloomberg late last month, and claimed she was no longer with Megaspeed.
“Our relationship, our interactions, have been related to Megaspeed, and it was all completely normal and not unusual,” said Huang.
Nvidia’s board of directors has stated that it is opening a new investigation prompted by the reports that Huang was targeted by “a foreign intelligence effort.” The investigation will be led by independent directors and assisted by outside independent counsel.
“The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of Nvidia and its shareholders,” read the Nvidia board’s statement alternative on Sunday. “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.”
A Nvidia spokesperson told the New York Times that Huang would continue as CEO during this investigation. For his part, Huang has stated that he supports and will cooperate with the investigation, and pledged to earn back the trust of his wife, family, and colleagues.
“Leading Nvidia is the privilege of my life,” Huang wrote, addressing his co-workers. “My responsibility is to serve you and be worthy of your trust. I have fallen short of that responsibility. I am fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back your confidence…
“I love our country and our company variation. I am committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America’s national security. I am proud and grateful to be an American.”
This news comes just over a week before Nvidia is scheduled to hold its Q3 2027 related earnings term call on Nov. 17. The chipmaker has significantly benefitted from the AI boom, bringing in $96.2 billion in related revenue term during Q2 — an 18 percent increase over Q1’s $81.6 billion. This is despite the U.S. government’s restrictions largely cutting Nvidia off from the significant Chinese AI related market term, Huang previously stating that the company’s advanced chip market variation share dropped from 95 percent to zero in the region.
Though Huang has called being blocked from the Chinese market alternative a “tremendous loss,” he remains a supportive ally of President Donald Trump. The Washington Post reported last month that Nvidia donated $25 million to the construction of the White House’s controversial new ballroom, with other tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Palantir also making contributions.
Speaking to reporters about Nvidia’s investigation on Sunday, Trump called Huang an “honourable guy” who had “done an amazing job for our country,” and expressed support for him staying on as the company’s CEO. Trump further stated that he would be open to bringing Huang with him on his trip to China for the APEC summit next week.
“I just know he’s a fine person, but you never know what’s going on,” said Trump. “I think he probably has an excuse for it… I haven’t heard he’s done anything wrong. He dealt with somebody, but you know, so does everybody else.”
Nvidia was one of several tech companies whose related stock term dropped after the recent U.S. midterm elections, as investors feared the Democrats’ decisive victory would slow data centre construction.
Source: https://mashable.com/tech/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-affair-chinese-spy-investigation