Nvidia's board of directors has opened an independent investigation after reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
In a statement dated Nov. 8, the Santa Clara company said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee the review. The board said it has "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised," that Huang supports the review, and that it has confidence in him and his leadership team.
CNBC reported that Huang told employees in an email Sunday that he had an affair with the woman, Alice Huang, whom U.S. intelligence agencies suspect of passing information to Beijing, according to reports in The New York Times and the Financial Times. "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did," he wrote. A company spokesperson said he will continue as CEO without interruption. CNBC said Ms. Huang is affiliated with Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer that has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies get Nvidia AI chips.
What's next: Three House Republican committee chairs have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18, CNBC reported. Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings on Nov. 17.