Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has admitted being unfaithful to his wife, while the company investigates an alleged Chinese intelligence recruitment plot involving a woman linked to one of its business partners.
Mr Huang, who is married to Lori Huang, made the admission in an internal message to employees. He wrote: “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.”
He did not identify the person with whom he had the affair. However, reports by the Financial Times and the New York Times said US officials had linked his romantic relationship to a woman named Alice Huang, whom US intelligence believed was a Chinese spy.
Both newspapers referred to a classified memo which alleged that Alice Huang may have been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security. The claim has not been established.
Alice Huang is an executive at Megaspeed, a company which did business with Nvidia. In October, before his apology, Mr Huang told Bloomberg News that his interactions with her were “related to Megaspeed, and it was all completely normal and not unusual.”
Nvidia board launches independent probe
Nvidia’s board said it would begin an independent inquiry following the reports about what it described as a foreign intelligence effort targeting the company’s founder and chief executive.
“The board prioritizes US national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of Nvidia and its shareholders,” the board 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.”
Megaspeed AI has been approached for comment on Alice Huang’s behalf but has not responded.
