US chipmaker Nvidia opens investigation into CEO Huang over Chinese intelligence reports
The board says it has no reason to believe US national security or company secrets were compromised, as Republican lawmakers call on Huang to brief Congress.
Nvidia said on Sunday it is opening an independent investigation after reports that its founder and chief executive, Jensen Huang, was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
The US chipmaker said in a statement it 'is initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort'. The company's board said it had no reason to believe that either US national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, and that the inquiry would examine all available information. Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating, the board added.
The New York Times reported in October that Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman who passed information to Beijing, according to The Guardian. Top Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have called on Huang to brief Congress this month about that report, The Guardian said.
Axios reported on Sunday, citing a draft email by Huang to employees, that Huang admitted to a romantic relationship with a suspected Chinese spy and took full responsibility. '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 draft email, which Reuters also saw. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Axios report, The Guardian said.
The Guardian, citing a report in The Times, said a memo drafted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio circulated among top policymakers in the Trump administration last spring, citing intelligence that the businesswoman who had a relationship with Huang was a spy for China's Ministry of State Security. Despite those concerns, Huang and his wife, Lori Huang, were invited to a state dinner at the White House in September for Xi Jinping, China's president, and seated at the top table with Donald Trump and Xi, according to The Guardian.
Sky News reported that Huang had been targeted by Chinese intelligence. Nikkei Asia reported that US intelligence suspects the woman of links to Chinese espionage, and said the investigation followed Huang's admission of the affair.
How the reports differ
Sky News named Chinese intelligence in its headline, while Reuters and CNA said only that Huang was the target of a 'foreign intelligence effort'. The Guardian led with Nvidia's statement and the New York Times report, and was alone in reporting that a Rubio memo had cited intelligence that the woman was a spy and that the Huangs attended a White House state dinner for Xi Jinping. Nikkei Asia led on Huang's admission of an affair and reported that US intelligence suspects the woman of links to Chinese espionage.
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