NVIDIA launches probe into alleged China spy links involving CEO Jensen Huang as he admits to 'affair'

Nvidia's Board of Directors has launched an independent investigation into reports that its founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jensen Huang, was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation involving a woman suspected of spying for China.

The company said a committee of independent directors, assisted by external legal counsel, would oversee the inquiry. It added that the investigation would examine all available information, while stressing that there was currently no reason to believe Nvidia's trade secrets or US national security information had been compromised.

"The Board prioritises U.S. national and economic security, which 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 company said in a statement.

Nvidia also confirmed that Huang supported the investigation and had agreed to cooperate with the committee.

"Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it. The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate," the statement added.

The board's announcement came after Fox News reported that Huang had admitted to an extramarital relationship with a technology executive suspected of having links to Chinese intelligence.

According to the network, Huang acknowledged the affair in an internal message to Nvidia employees, apologising for his actions and the impact they had on his family.

"I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did," Huang said in the message cited by Fox News.

The report identified the woman as Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, and alleged that US intelligence agencies had identified her as a Chinese intelligence asset.

Fox News further reported that the relationship, along with earlier intelligence warnings about the executive, had drawn scrutiny from US authorities and Nvidia. The controversy has also attracted attention because Huang has been lobbying the Donald Trump administration to ease restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductor and artificial intelligence chips to China.

Separately, The New York Times reported, citing a memo circulated among policymakers in the Trump administration, that the Chinese businesswoman linked to Huang had been recruited by China's Ministry of State Security.

The matter has also reached Capitol Hill. On Friday, three Republican committee chairs in the US House of Representatives asked Huang to address the reported links with the Chinese businesswoman in a closed-door meeting, Axios reported.

Nvidia has rejected the allegations, describing them as "baseless".

(With ANI inputs)