Nvidia said it is opening an investigation into chief executive Jensen Huang and his relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed who was reportedly recruited by China's Ministry of State Security to spy on the chipmaker.
In a statement, Nvidia's board of directors said it is "initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort." The inquiry will be overseen by a committee of independent directors working with outside independent counsel.
The board stressed that national security remains its central concern. "The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders," the statement read. It added that while there is no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, the inquiry will examine all available information.
The statement also said Huang supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it, and that the board retains confidence in him and his leadership team, with further updates to come as appropriate.
The New York Times reported last month that Huang had developed a "close relationship" with the Megaspeed executive. Huang later acknowledged in a memo to the company that the relationship was romantic in nature. US officials believe she was passing information directly back to Beijing.
Megaspeed is a customer of Nvidia and is separately under investigation by the Commerce Department over whether it smuggled AI chips to China. Nvidia's AI chips are widely seen as critical to the United States maintaining its technological edge, and both the Biden and Trump administrations have imposed restrictions on their sale to China.
President Trump has loosened some of those restrictions, but sales of Nvidia's most powerful chips to Chinese firms remain barred. Individual companies must also receive Commerce Department approval to handle the chips.
The situation carries additional sensitivity because of Huang's close ties to Donald Trump. There is concern about what insight into the administration's deliberations on AI policy Huang may have had, whether any of that information was shared with Alice Huang, and whether it could have made its way to Beijing.
