Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation “in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” it said in a statement on November 8. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee it.

“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 said. The board said it has confidence in Huang and his leadership team, and that he has committed to cooperating.

In an email to employees the same day, which Nvidia also published, Huang wrote that he had been unfaithful to his wife and took full responsibility. Referring to “the national security concerns raised in news reports,” he said he supported the investigation and would cooperate fully. The email does not name Alice Huang, the Megaspeed executive who US officials concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset. “Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption,” Nvidia said in a statement to CNBC.

The New York Times, which first reported the officials’ conclusion in October, said on November 6 that a memo circulated among Trump administration policymakers earlier this year said Alice Huang had been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security. Nvidia has said Huang’s interactions with her were consistent with his meetings with other customers, and that customers receive no information relevant to national security.

Megaspeed, a Singapore-registered company that has bought Nvidia hardware, has faced investigations by Singapore police and the Commerce Department over whether it sidestepped US export controls. It said in October that outside counsel it retained for an internal investigation had told the US government it would cooperate fully.

In a November 4 letter, the Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on the CCP and the Intelligence Committee, Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford, asked Huang to brief their committees behind closed doors on November 18. The briefing would cover Nvidia’s security protocols against foreign espionage and his interactions with Alice Huang, whom the letter calls “a publicly reported People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence asset.” The chairs asked him to accept the date or propose another by November 11.

“It is vital that Congress determines the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk,” they wrote. Democrats, who won majorities in both chambers in the midterm elections and take control in January, have also called for inquiries. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, in line to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on X that “Congress will investigate and get answers.”

President Donald Trump said on November 8 that he had not spoken to Huang about the investigation and called him “an honorable guy.” Asked about the case on November 9, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the “Chinese spy” allegation “is purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China.”

Nvidia shares opened about 8 percent lower on November 9. The company reports third-quarter results on November 17, the day before the briefing the chairs requested.

Sources: Nvidia, House Foreign Affairs Committee, CNBC

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By the Control Plane Editorial Team