Nvidia opened an independent investigation into its chief executive on Sunday, after Jensen Huang told the board he had an intimate relationship with a business executive US officials identified as a suspected Chinese spy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had warned senior Trump administration officials about the relationship months earlier, according to The New York Times.
Rubio oversaw a highly classified memo this spring that alerted officials to the relationship, the Times reported, citing people briefed on the matter. The memo drew on electronic surveillance that led US officials to conclude the woman, Alice Huang, had been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security.
Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang, was a senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that bought about $2 billion in Nvidia products despite a small local presence. Megaspeed is under investigation over accusations that it helped smuggle advanced Nvidia chips into China, in breach of US export controls.
Huang apologised on Sunday for being unfaithful to his wife. Nvidia’s board said it had no reason to believe national security or the company’s corporate secrets had been compromised, and said Huang would remain in charge while the investigation runs. Independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee the inquiry.
President Donald Trump had been briefed about the suspected intelligence operation roughly a year ago but took no action at that time, the Times reported. The State Department and the White House declined to comment.
Three House Republican committee chairmen have asked Huang to answer questions about his dealings with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s safeguards, and requested a closed-door briefing for 18 November. There is no public evidence that Huang knowingly cooperated with Chinese intelligence or passed sensitive information to a foreign government.
Source: The New York Times
