Nvidia Hires Major New York Law Firm for CEO Probe
Nvidia has hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, who is alleged to be a Chinese spy. The company named attorney Joon Kim to lead the inquiry as the FBI conducts a separate investigation.
Nvidia has hired New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy. The company announced the move on Tuesday and named attorney Joon Kim to lead the inquiry.
The investigation puts the leadership of a major AI-chip maker under scrutiny. The FBI is conducting a separate probe.
Board names independent investigators
Nvidia said Kim would lead “a thorough and independent investigation.” He is a former US attorney for New York’s Southern District and worked as a government attorney focused on fraud and other criminal cases.
Nvidia’s board said on Sunday that it had no reason to believe the company’s secrets or national security had been compromised. It said a committee of independent directors would oversee the investigation.
Huang, who co-founded Nvidia, has acknowledged a romantic relationship outside his marriage with Alice Huang. She is not related to him and is also known as Huang Le.
Alice Huang was an executive at Megaspeed, a Singaporean company that has been an Nvidia customer. Megaspeed was suspected of helping divert Nvidia chips to China. Nvidia has said it investigated and debunked that concern, and that the US government did not tell the company Megaspeed posed an intelligence risk.
Congress seeks closed-door briefing
Leaders of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs have asked Jensen Huang to attend a closed-door briefing next week. He has not said whether he will appear, a person familiar with the committee’s request said.
The committee can subpoena him if it decides that is necessary. The request adds congressional scrutiny to the company and FBI investigations.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that Huang told him, “I had no idea she was a spy.” Trump said he believed Huang.
China’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations, calling them “intended to smear and malign China.”
Nvidia’s share price has fallen close to a yearly low, with $500bn wiped from its market value since Friday, according to the report. The company is a major supplier of chips used to run AI tools, and US officials view those chips as important to national security and the competition over AI.
