Explainer-What we know about Nvidia’s probe into CEO Jensen Huang

Nov 9 (Reuters) – Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faces a board probe into whether he was the target of a foreign intelligence effort after a media report linked him to a Chinese businesswoman accused of passing information to Beijing.

The New York Times reported last month that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, an unrelated former executive of Singapore-based company Megaspeed, who US authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese ​intelligence asset.

Here is what is known about Huang’s background and his pivotal role at chipmaker Nvidia as well as the US scrutiny of Megaspeed and Alice Huang.

WHO IS JENSEN HUANG?

Huang, 63, co-founded Nvidia in 1993 with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem and has led the company ever since, making him one of Silicon Valley’s longest-serving founder CEOs.

Born in Taiwan and raised in the US, Huang became one of the most powerful figures in the AI revolution as he transformed Nvidia from a maker of video-game graphics chips into the world’s dominant supplier of AI processors.

His trademark leather jackets and high-profile product launches have made him one of the few corporate leaders in the world synonymous with their companies.

Huang has been married for decades to Lori Huang, whom he met while studying engineering. The couple have two children who both work at Nvidia.

Their daughter Madison Huang is a senior director of product and technical marketing for physical AI platforms at Nvidia, while their son Spencer Huang manages robotics software products.

Huang said on Sunday in a message to employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife and took “full responsibility” for his actions.

WHAT DOES NVIDIA DO?

Nvidia’s chip designs have been at the heart of major technology trends from video games to self-driving cars to cloud computing and AI.

Under Huang’s leadership, the company bet early on AI, and when ChatGPT launched in late 2022, Nvidia’s chips were already positioned at the center of a surge in demand for AI computing.

Nvidia has become one of the world’s most valuable businesses and a critical supplier to major technology firms, with its valuation surging from $420 billion in late 2022 to $4.5 trillion as of November 6.

WHO IS ALICE HUANG AND WHAT IS MEGASPEED?

The US has been investigating Megaspeed, a Singapore-based cloud computing firm and an Nvidia customer, over suspicions that it helped Beijing gain access to Nvidia’s advanced AI chips that are barred from shipment to China.

The New York Times last month reported that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen, had developed a close relationship with the Nvidia boss and allegedly fed information directly to Beijing.

Reuters could not independently verify the claims made in the report, nor could it verify Alice Huang’s current employment status with Megaspeed.

According to its website, Megaspeed is an Nvidia Cloud Partner in the Asia-Pacific region, with Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72 and HGX H100 chips on offer.

Megaspeed did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Monday, a public holiday in Singapore.

Alice Huang did not respond to the New York Times last month when it first reported her relationship with Huang, and Reuters could not determine her location to seek comment on Monday.

WHAT NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES COULD BE INVOLVED?

Nvidia sits at the center of the technological rivalry between the United States and China. Washington has imposed restrictions on exports of advanced AI chips to China since 2022.

The controversy over Huang’s contacts with Alice Huang comes at a vulnerable time for Nvidia. Investors are already fretting about the sustainability of the AI boom that helped drive the company’s rise. The board probe raises fresh questions about the future of the executive most closely associated with its success.

Senior Republicans in the US House of Representatives have already sought briefings from Huang following the New York Times report, citing national security concerns.

Nvidia has said its board has “no reason to believe” US national security or company secrets were affected, though an independent committee of directors will review all available information.

HOW WILL NVIDIA CONDUCT ITS PROBE?

The company said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation.

Huang fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it, Nvidia said in a statement.

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sameer Manekar and Jamie Freed)