Nvidia Launches Investigation Into Reported Chinese Spy Effort Targeting Jensen Huang

Nvidia’s board is launching an independent investigation into reports that CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a Chinese intelligence effort, as lawmakers press the leading chipmaker for answers regarding potential national security risks.

The announcement follows an October New York Times report that U.S. officials had determined Alice Huang, a businesswoman associated with Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed, was a Chinese intelligence asset who cultivated a close relationship with Jensen Huang. Officials also suspected she helped funnel advanced Nvidia chips to China, according to the Times.

In a Sunday message to employees obtained by POLITICO, Jensen Huang apologized for being unfaithful to his wife and pledged to cooperate with the investigation. The message was sent separately from the company’s public announcement.

“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 wrote. The message did not refer to Alice Huang by name.

“Today’s news will not slow NVIDIA,” the company said in a statement in response to a request for comment. “Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption.”

A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee Nvidia’s inquiry. The board said in its announcement of the effort that Jensen Huang supports the review, and added that it retains confidence in him and his leadership team.

“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,” the directors said in a statement Sunday.

Scrutiny of Megaspeed stretches back nearly two years. The Commerce Department began investigating the company in late 2024, and the probe was handed over to the Justice Department this year, the Times reported. U.S. intelligence agencies’ surveillance of Alice Huang revealed her relationship with Jensen Huang, and that surveillance remained ongoing at the time of publication of the Times' report.

The White House and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the investigation or the Times’ reporting.

The Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and China committees — Reps. Brian Mast, Rick Crawford and John Moolenaar — last week requested that Jensen Huang appear for a Nov. 18 closed-door briefing on his interactions with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s protections against foreign espionage.

“NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang and NVIDIA’s board owe Congress answers,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement after the Times' report. She urged passage of bipartisan legislation to stop advanced U.S. technology from reaching China, part of a broader push to attach tighter export controls to the annual defense policy bill.

Nvidia described Jensen Huang’s interactions with Alice Huang as routine business dealings late last month. The company told POLITICO in October that regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information, rather than sensitive trade secrets or information relevant to national security.