Nvidia investigates reports CEO Jensen Huang was target of foreign intelligence

Nvidia announced on Sunday that it is launching an independent investigation following recent reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence operation. This move comes after reports in The New York Times in October, which stated that Donald Trump was briefed last year on intelligence suggesting that Huang maintained a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman who allegedly passed information to Beijing.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump downplayed the revelations regarding Huang, who serves as an influential adviser to the president on artificial intelligence. Trump stated, “I think he’s an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it.” He also brushed off questions about whether he regrets not acting on the intelligence when he was first briefed, and suggested he would be happy to have Huang accompany him on an upcoming trip to Asia next week. “I haven’t heard he’s done anything wrong,” Trump said. “He dealt with somebody. But, you know, so does everybody else.”

Republican lawmakers have expressed deeper concern, requesting that Huang attend a closed-door briefing next week with the House foreign affairs and intelligence committees. They want to discuss Nvidia’s “security protocols against foreign adversary espionage” and his relationship with Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le. Alice Huang is an executive at a Singapore-based datacenter company called Megaspeed and is of no relation to the Nvidia CEO. She had previously been suspected of smuggling Nvidia chips to China, which led American officials to surveil and monitor her.

According to The New York Times, officials have determined that she was acting as a Chinese intelligence asset, passing commercial information to Beijing. The company’s board stated on Sunday that it has no reason to believe that US national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry will examine all available information. “The Board prioritizes US national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders,” the company said. “The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate.” The company added that Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating.

Axios reported on Sunday, citing a draft email by Huang to employees, that the CEO admitted to having a romantic relationship with a suspected Chinese spy and took full responsibility for his actions. “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did,” Huang said in the draft email, which was also seen by Reuters. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the Axios report.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that a memo drafted by US secretary of state Marco Rubio circulated among top policymakers in the Trump administration last spring, citing intelligence that the businesswoman who had a relationship with the Nvidia chief executive was a spy for China’s ministry of state security. Despite those concerns, Huang was invited to join Trump’s delegation when he travelled to China in May. Huang and his wife, Lori Huang, were also invited to a state dinner at the White House in September for Xi Jinping and were seated at the top table with Trump and the Chinese president.

Nvidia’s powerful chips serve as a cornerstone of the AI boom, placing Jensen Huang into one of the most influential leadership positions in the industry. In that role, he has developed a close partnership with Trump as the US government attempts to defend its position as a leader in AI development. However, national security concerns have prompted strict US export controls, effectively barring the company from selling its top-tier processors to customers in China.

US officials have cited threats to the US supply chain and fears over national security risks as a rationale for the restrictions. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, has also suggested that China could be sanctioned for theft of US data and intellectual property.

The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on exports of advanced AI chips to China as a matter of national security. Alice Huang of Megaspeed was suspected to have been helping the government circumvent those restrictions. The investigation also follows a difficult few days on Wall Street for AI tech firms, particularly Nvidia.

A sell-off of tech stocks that began earlier this month and gained momentum with disappointing earnings led to a total decline of nearly $1tn in value off the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange in one week and erased about $2tn in a month. A drop of 3.1% for Nvidia, previously worth about $5tn, whose chips have made it the poster child of the AI frenzy, was the heaviest force pulling the S&P 500 downward recently.

Nick Robins-Early and Blake Montgomery contributed reporting.