Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation into reports that its chief executive, Jensen Huang, was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, after Huang apologised to staff on Sunday for an affair with a businesswoman suspected of passing information to Beijing.
The board said it had no reason to believe that either Nvidia’s secrets or national security had been compromised, and expressed confidence in Huang’s leadership. A committee of independent directors, helped by outside lawyers, will oversee the inquiry, which the board said would “examine all available information”.
In an email to employees, Huang apologised for being unfaithful to his wife, Lori, to whom he has been married for about 40 years. “I owe my family and all of you an apology,” he wrote. “There is no excuse for what I did.” The couple have two adult children, both of whom work at Nvidia.
The affair was with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and former top executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company that buys Nvidia chips to build data centres across Asia. She is not related to the Nvidia chief executive. US officials concluded last year that she was sharing information with the Chinese government while working with Nvidia, according to The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times earlier reported that Jensen Huang was seen as a target of Chinese spying and that he had a close relationship with her.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and no charges against either Huang or Alice Huang have been publicly reported. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs has said no investigations were conducted into Alice Huang over her alleged ties to China, while the Chinese embassy in Washington has rejected the spying allegations. She disappeared into China for a period in late 2024 as authorities began to surveil her, and her current whereabouts are not known.
The investigation lands as Huang lobbies governments around the world to allow the free flow of the advanced chips that power the latest artificial intelligence models, arguing that restrictions would damage American competitiveness. His role at the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, worth about $4.5 trillion, has made him one of the technology executives closest to President Donald Trump, who has approved Nvidia’s push to export some of its older chips to China.
Trump on Sunday called Huang an “honourable” person who had “done an amazing job for our country”, but said he had not discussed the allegations with him. “I have not spoken to him about it. I just know he’s a fine person, but you never know what is going on,” he told reporters. Asked whether he would take Huang on his trip to Asia next week, Trump said: “I don’t know, but I’d certainly take him.”
Three Republican House chairmen had already called on Huang to give a closed-door briefing to Congress on 18 November about the report and Nvidia’s “security protocols against foreign adversary espionage”. Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat, pledged on Saturday to investigate the matter as well.
Nvidia said Huang would continue to lead the company without interruption. “Today’s news will not slow NVIDIA. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption,” a spokesman said. The company had previously said Huang’s interactions with Alice Huang were “not unusual or unexpected” given their business ties.
Sources: Reuters — “Nvidia launches probe after report CEO Huang was target of foreign intelligence” (https://www.reuters.com/world/china/nvidia-launches-probe-after-report-ceo-huang-was-target-foreign-intelligence-2026-11-08/) and “Trump calls Nvidia’s Huang ‘honorable,’ says he has not discussed allegations with him” (https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-calls-nvidias-huang-honorable-says-he-has-not-discussed-allegations-with-2026-11-08/); The Wall Street Journal — “Nvidia’s Board Investigates Reports That CEO Was Spying Target After Affair” (https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/nvidias-board-to-investigate-reports-that-jensen-huang-was-spying-target-c630325e).
