San Francisco: Nvidia is investigating reports that its chief executive officer, Jensen Huang, was the ‘target of a foreign intelligence effort’, the company's board of directors said on Sunday.
The announcement came after Huang acknowledged to the board that he had been intimate with a business executive whom US intelligence agencies determined was gathering information for Beijing, The New York Times reported.
Huang apologised to his family in a message to company employees, according to the newspaper. “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 said.
Nvidia's board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised”, but that its inquiry would examine all available information. The investigation will be overseen by a committee of independent directors, assisted by external legal counsel.
Huang “fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it”, the board said, adding that it had confidence in his leadership. He will remain CEO during the investigation.
US President Donald Trump defended Huang amid the controversy, describing him as an ‘honourable guy’ and saying he hoped he would remain at the helm of the chipmaker.
“I think he's an honourable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it, you know, and you have to hear it,” Trump told reporters when asked about the allegations. Asked whether he expected Huang to retain his position, Trump replied, “I think so. Sure.”
The Times reported last month that US intelligence agencies had found that Huang had developed a close relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and chip buyer, and determined that she was passing information directly to Beijing. The two are not related, the newspaper said.
Alice Huang was previously a television reporter in China before becoming a senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed, which has become one of Nvidia's biggest customers in Southeast Asia. The company bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years, according to the Times.
(With agency inputs from AP via PTI, ANI)