NVIDIA's Board of Directors has announced an independent investigation following recent reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
According to the statement, a committee of independent directors will supervise the investigation, with help from outside independent counsel. The board also stressed that US national and economic security is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders.
"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 statement reads. Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating. The board said it has confidence in Huang and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate.
In October, The New York Times reported that US officials had concluded that Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a Chinese citizen and a top executive of the Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed, was a Chinese intelligence asset. According to the report, she had developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang.
On November 8, NVIDIA said Huang sent an email to NVIDIA employees in which he admitted that he had been "unfaithful" to his wife and apologized for hurting her and their children. "There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry," he wrote. He also said: "I support the investigation and will cooperate fully." The New York Times reported that Huang acknowledged to the company's board that he had been in an "intimate" relationship with a business executive who US intelligence reportedly determined was a Chinese spy.
The board said Huang will continue to lead the company during the investigation, according to The New York Times. "Today's news will not slow Nvidia," John Rizzo, an NVIDIA spokesman, said. "Jensen is committed to continuing to lead Nvidia as CEO without interruption."
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