After Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to having been “unfaithful” to his wife, Lori Huang, and the company’s board announced an internal investigation following reports that Jensen was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort,” a new report has claimed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier warned the President Donald Trump-led administration that the semiconductor firm’s chief was having an affair with a Chinese spy.
A report by The New York Times claimed that Rubio had overseen the drafting of a highly classified memo and raised the issue with top officials in the Trump administration that Jensen Huang was in a close relationship with a Chinese spy. It added that the memo was based on intelligence inputs received by the US agencies after surveillance of Chinese citizen Alice Huang, who earlier worked as a senior executive at a Singapore-based data centre company.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his wife Lori Huang attend a state dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the White House in Washington, DC, US. (Reuters Photo, enhanced with AI)
How US intelligence agencies linked Alice Huang to China
The Singapore firm was in business with Nvidia by purchasing advanced artificial intelligence chips, and the US intel agencies had been probing the company for illegally smuggling the chips to China.
The NYT report added that US officials concluded during the inquiry that Alice Huang was recruited by China’s top intelligence agency to spy.
Jensen Huang remained influential in Trump’s inner circle
The development highlights the concern about how senior Trump administration officials were potentially aware of Nvidia chief Huang’s relations with an alleged Chinese spy, Alice Huang, and yet Jensen remained one of the influential voices and a key member of Trump’s inner circle in policymaking and the growth of AI.
Huang has been vocal about regulations that limit exports of most advanced AI chips and has pushed to sell them worldwide. However, the Nvidia boss doesn’t support selling the recently developed technology to China, the US’s prime rival in the global AI race.
The report added that the classified memo, detailing Jensen Huang’s relationship with the Chinese spy, was circulated to administration officials ahead of President Trump’s much-awaited trip to Beijing in May.
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Nvidia board launches internal investigation
Nvidia’s Board of Directors on Sunday announced an internal investigation into the matter after the co-founder acknowledged that he had been intimate with Alice. However, the company, in a statement, said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.”
What Jensen Huang said in his apology to Nvidia employees
In a letter sent to Nvidia employees admitting his extramarital affair, Jensen apologised for his conduct.
“To my colleagues at NVIDIA, I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” Huang wrote.
Talking about the inquiry, he added, “Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, NVIDIA’s Board of Directors has initiated an independent investigation. I support the investigation and will cooperate fully. I love our country and our company.”
