Why Nvidia CEO's affair with alleged Chinese spy matters

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has apologized for an affair with a woman the US believes was spying for China. The story could have profound implications for the world's most valuable company and the global AI race.

Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993Image: Joyce N. Boghosian/White House/ZUMA/picture allianceAdvertisementNvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's admission to an affair with a woman whom US intelligence officials believe was working as a spy for China could have profound implications for the $5 trillion (€4.47 trillion) company.

The Financial Times first reported on Huang's affair with Alice H., an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer of Nvidia, which has been suspected of trying to circumvent export controls to get advanced Nvidia chips into China.

The newspaper reported that the US government and its intelligence community believes she was recruited as a spy by China's Ministry of State Security intelligence agency.

US government officials drafted a memo about the allegations shortly before US President Donald Trump traveled to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping in May.

Huang's relationship with the alleged Chinese spy has exposed him and the company to criticism that it may have allowed China to obtain valuable trade secrets as Beijing tries to gain an edge in the race to develop advanced AI models.

Nvidia is initiating an investigation led by independent board members and an external law firm. It said in a statement that Huang "has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort."

"The board prioritizes US national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of Nvidia and its shareholders," the company said. "While the board has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, the board's inquiry will examine all available information."

While US intelligence officials have not commented publicly on the claims, Trump — with whom Jensen Huang has a close relationship — has backed the Nvidia boss.

"He's an honorable guy," said Trump. "I have not spoken to him ​about it. I just know he's a ​fine person, but you never know what is going on. I hope everything's fine."

Tim Culpan, an Asia tech reporter who has covered Nvidia and Huang closely for years, told DW that while Nvidia's fundamental strengths as a company remain in place, Huang is hugely personally damaged by the story.

"They're still going to make great chips and they're going to sell them to millions of customers around the world who want the best AI chips in the world," he said.