Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to an affair with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a company that purchased AI chips from Nvidia. The admission comes after months of reports, including a memo overseen by Senator Marco Rubio, that alleged Alice Huang was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. A New York Times report detailed Rubio's warning that the executive was potentially involved in a foreign intelligence operation.
Nvidia's board announced Sunday that it has initiated an investigation into whether Jensen Huang was a "target of a foreign intelligence effort." The company's board, however, stated that it "still has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team."
According to the New York Times report, Alice Huang was recruited by China's spy agency. The memo, which was overseen by Rubio, concluded that she was a Chinese spy. It remains unclear how long the relationship between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang lasted.
The Biden administration had previously placed restrictions on the sale of high-end Nvidia chips to China as part of efforts to manage the global AI race. Jensen Huang had reportedly pushed the Trump administration to ease these constraints.
This situation draws parallels to other cases where prominent Americans have been reportedly targeted by suspected Chinese spies, such as former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who allegedly had a relationship with Christine Fang, also known as "Fang Fang."