FBI examining Nvidia chief Jensen Huang’s affair with suspected spy, Trump says

US President Donald Trump said on 9 November that the FBI was looking into Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang’s relationship with a woman whom US officials suspect of working for Chinese intelligence.

“I know the FBI is looking into it,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House, according to Al Jazeera. He said he had spoken to Mr. Huang, who told him he had no idea the woman was a spy. “I really believe him,” Mr. Trump said.

What is new

Nvidia’s board announced on 8 November that it had opened an inquiry, overseen by outside lawyers. It said it had no reason to believe that national security or company secrets had been compromised. In a separate statement, Mr. Huang admitted to an extramarital relationship, apologised to his family, staff and shareholders, and said he would cooperate with the inquiry.

The woman, Alice Huang, is a former executive of Megaspeed, a data centre company in Singapore. She is not related to Mr. Huang. The New York Times and the Financial Times reported that a memo by US officials said she had gathered information for China’s Ministry of State Security.

China’s Foreign Ministry said on 9 November that the claims were groundless and meant to smear China.

The markets

Nvidia’s shares traded at about $180 in after-hours trading on 9 November, about 3.4% below their close of $186.64 on 6 November, Reuters reported. Mr. Huang’s daughter Madison, an Nvidia executive, cancelled a planned visit to Seoul.

Nvidia makes most of the chips used to train and run large artificial intelligence models. It is worth more than $4 trillion.

What’s next

The board has not said when its inquiry will report.