Nvidia Board Opens Probe Into Whether Huang Was Target of Foreign Intelligence Effort

Nvidia's board is investigating whether Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign espionage plot after he told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife, Bloomberg reported. The board will assemble a committee of independent directors, working with outside counsel, to oversee the inquiry, according to a statement on Sunday.The investigation will address reports that Huang "has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort" and examine all available information. The board said it has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised. Huang, 63, will remain CEO pending the results and is fully cooperating."I was unfaithful to my wife," Huang said in a memo to staff. "My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did." He said he was deeply sorry for the affair and that he was committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting US national security.The admission follows reports that Huang was targeted by Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed International executive whom the US government suspects was recruited by a Chinese spy agency. The CEO had previously denied having anything beyond a "normal" relationship with the woman.Singapore-based Megaspeed has been accused of breaking US export restrictions and smuggling Nvidia chips to China. Nvidia may ship a limited range of products to China under a licensing programme granted by the current administration, while Beijing has restricted imports of the chips, an impasse that continues to curb sales in the world's second-largest economy.The episode casts doubt over the future of a leader central to the AI boom. Nvidia has no public succession plan and no obvious heir apparent, and Huang has built an informal structure around himself in which direct reports implement his decisions. The company reached a record market value of nearly $5.8 trillion in October and has since slipped below $5 trillion. It reports earnings later this month.