Nvidia’s board opens an investigation into its own CEO as Jensen Huang admits an affair

Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation into its own chief executive, Jensen Huang, after reports that a suspected Chinese spy got close to him. On the same day Huang told staff, in an email published by Axios, that he had been unfaithful to his wife.

The board’s statement, released on Sunday, November 8, says a committee of independent directors, helped by outside independent counsel, will oversee the inquiry “in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” It does not name China, Megaspeed or Alice Huang, the executive at the centre of the reports, who is no relation.

What the board says

“The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders,” it says. The board “has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised”, but its inquiry “will examine all available information.”

It also stands by its chief executive. Huang “fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it,” the board says, and it “has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team.” It promises further updates “as appropriate” but gives no timetable, and does not say which directors sit on the committee or which law firm is advising them.

Nvidia made clear Huang is going nowhere. “Today’s news will not slow NVIDIA. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption,” John Rizzo, its head of public policy communications, told Axios.

“I was unfaithful to my wife”

Huang’s email, under the subject line “A message to our company”, opens with an apology:

I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.

Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, in an email to staff

He tells colleagues, the board, partners and shareholders that “you deserve better from me” and that he has “fallen short” of his responsibility to them. “Leading NVIDIA is the privilege of my life,” he writes. “I am fully committed to NVIDIA and will work to earn back your confidence.”

The email does not name the woman involved or mention Alice Huang. It turns to the inquiry in one paragraph:

Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, NVIDIA’s Board of Directors has initiated an independent investigation. I support the investigation and will cooperate fully. I love our country and our company, and I am committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security.

Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, in an email to staff

He ends by asking for privacy for his family: “My family bears no responsibility for my choices. I do.”

From “not unusual” to a board inquiry

When The New York Times reported on October 29 that US intelligence agencies believed Alice Huang, an executive at the Singapore data centre company Megaspeed, had built a close relationship with Huang while passing information to Beijing, the company called his dealings with her “not unusual or unexpected”. Huang himself told Bloomberg they were “completely normal”. Our story on the original report covers what Megaspeed is accused of and how Nvidia, Beijing and the White House first responded.

The claims then grew. The Times reported that a US intelligence memo says Alice Huang was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to target the Nvidia boss, and the Financial Times reported that the same memo says the two were romantically involved. The Times has also reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned senior Trump administration officials about the relationship. Neither paper has published the memo, no one has been charged, and China’s foreign ministry has called the reports “smears”.

What comes next

The Republican chairs of three House committees, John Moolenaar, Brian Mast and Rick Crawford, have invited Huang to a closed-door briefing on November 18 and asked him to reply by November 11. Nvidia has not said whether he will go.

The day before that briefing, on November 17, Nvidia reports its third-quarter results, its first earnings call since the reports began. Huang has lobbied hard against limits on selling Nvidia’s chips to China, and the Times separately found that some Chinese firms cleared to buy its H200 chips had empty offices and ties to blacklisted companies, a debate in which Nvidia has been the big winner.

Update: Trump backs Huang as Rubio declines to comment

President Trump has given Huang his full support. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he called Huang a “fine person” who should stay on as Nvidia’s chief executive, NBC News reported. “I think he’s an honorable guy,” Trump said, adding that Huang had “done an amazing job for our country.” Asked whether he wished he had acted on the intelligence about Alice Huang, he said: “no, I don’t think so.” He also said he would support taking Huang on his upcoming trip through Asia.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who the Times says warned senior officials about the relationship, would not discuss it. “I just can’t comment because of the nature of it, and I also can’t comment on an internal corporate matter that’s going on with Nvidia,” he told reporters in Florida shortly after the board’s announcement.

Why it matters

Nvidia makes the chips that power most of the AI boom, and Huang is the loudest voice in Washington on how many of them China should get. Until now Nvidia had treated the reports as routine customer contact; a board inquiry, alongside a personal admission from Huang, means it no longer can.

Sources: Statement from Nvidia’s board of directors; Axios (Huang’s email to staff); Axios (Nvidia statement); The New York Times (Oct 29); The New York Times (Rubio warning); TechCrunch (NYT and FT memo reports); House Select Committee on China (Nov 5 letter); NBC News (Trump and Rubio comments); Nvidia (Q3 results call)