Nvidia Board Hires Wachtell to Investigate CEO’s Affair and Security Risks
Nvidia’s independent directors hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at a company that supplies Nvidia. The inquiry will examine whether company secrets or national security were compromised; the FBI is conducting a separate probe.
Nvidia’s independent directors hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with Alice Huang, an executive at a Nvidia customer, the board said Tuesday. The inquiry will examine whether company secrets or U.S. national security were compromised.
The FBI is conducting a separate investigation, as scrutiny grows over Alice Huang’s alleged ties to Chinese intelligence and Nvidia’s sales of restricted artificial intelligence chips to Chinese companies.
Joon Kim, a Wachtell attorney and former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, will lead what the board called “a thorough and independent investigation.”
Jensen Huang admitted to the relationship in an email to Nvidia staff on Sunday. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did,” he wrote.
Alice Huang is an executive at Megaspeed, a Singaporean company that has been an Nvidia customer. She is alleged to have spied for Beijing; the allegations have not been established as fact.
The board said Sunday it had no reason to believe Nvidia secrets or national security had been compromised. It also said it would investigate allegations that Jensen Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
China’s foreign ministry rejected the claims, saying they were “intended to smear and malign China.”
Nvidia shares fell 6% on Tuesday after dropping more than 4% on Monday, CNBC reported. The company’s stock also reached a near-yearly low on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he had spoken with Jensen Huang, who told him, “I had no idea she was a spy.” Trump said he believed him.
An Nvidia representative said Jensen Huang was committed to continuing as CEO without interruption. The board’s investigation will also address whether the affair exposed company information or raised national security concerns.
