Nvidia launches internal probe after CEO admits affair and faces espionage allegations

Nvidia announced that its board of directors will conduct an independent investigation after reports surfaced that founder and chief executive Jensen Huang had an affair with a woman identified by The New York Times as a former Megaspeed executive suspected of spying for Beijing. Huang issued a statement to staff apologising for his personal conduct, saying, "There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry," and pledged to cooperate fully with the review.

Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data-centre firm that purchases Nvidia chips, said its current leadership is taking the allegations "extremely seriously" and has hired external counsel to examine the matter. The company has bought $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over the past two years, making it a major customer in Southeast Asia.

U.S. authorities have previously investigated Megaspeed for allegedly helping Chinese firms bypass export controls on advanced Nvidia chips. The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence believes the Megaspeed executive, Alice Huang, acted on behalf of Beijing and that surveillance linked her communications to Jensen Huang.

Nvidia's board emphasized that it has no reason to believe that national-security secrets were compromised, but said protecting U.S. economic and security interests remains a priority. The board’s statement added that Huang "fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it."

President Donald Trump, who has not spoken to Huang since the investigation was disclosed, described the CEO as "a fine person" and said he had "done an amazing job for our country." Chinese officials have rejected the espionage claims as unfounded.

The investigation will assess whether any corporate or national-security information was exposed, while Huang reiterated his commitment to Nvidia and to U.S. security in his communication to employees.