Why Nvidia CEO's affair with alleged Chinese spy matters

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has apologized for an affair with a woman the US believes was spying for China. The story could have profound implications for the world's most valuable company and the global AI race. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's admission to an affair with a woman whom US intelligence officials believe was working as a spy for China could have profound implications for the $5 trillion (€4.47 trillion) company.

The Financial Times first reported on Huang's affair with Alice H., an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer of Nvidia, which has been suspected of trying to circumvent export controls to get advanced Nvidia chips into China. The newspaper reported that the US government and its intelligence community believes she was recruited as a spy by China's Ministry of State Security intelligence agency. US government officials drafted a memo about the allegations shortly before US President Donald Trump traveled to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping in May.

Nvidia is initiating an investigation led by independent board members and an external law firm.