Santa Clara tech giant Nvidia's board announced Sunday that it will open an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang following a bombshell New York Times report detailing Huang's romantic relationship with a woman who may have been a spy from China.
At the heart of the matter, as ABC7 reports, is Huang's affair with a woman named Alice Huang — no relation. In a memo later publicized by the Times, the married Nvidia CEO acknowledged the pain his infidelity has caused his wife and children.
The crux of the issue, however, is whether Alice Huang leveraged their romantic relationship to help China secure more of Nvidia's highly-sought after advanced chips.
Regarded as among the most coveted in the world, customers in China are currently restricted from purchasing the technology owing to national security fears regarding their potential use in products powered by artificial intelligence.
In his current role, per NBC Bay Area, Nvidia's Huang serves as "an ambassador for the industry, regularly appearing alongside the likes of President Donald Trump, King Charles... to tout his company and what he says will be immense payoff in the future from AI."
Thus, if Huang has been compromised, that may mean Nvidia's valuable trade secrets have been compromised as well.
In announcing an independent investigation into the matter, a statement from Nvidia's Board noted that Huang remains "committed to continuing to lead Nvidia" and reaffirmed their confidence in him and his leadership team.
"While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised," the statement continued, "the Board's inquiry will examine all available information."
The statement further noted that Huang "fully supports the review" and will his cooperate with those overseeing the investigation.
Earlier this week, SFist reported on a truck that disappeared after leaving Oakland on its way to Fort Worth, Texas while carrying $11.4 million in Nvidia hardware.
Related: More Than $11 Million In Nvidia Hardware Stolen From Truck That Left Oakland
