The board of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chipmaker, has opened an independent investigation into whether chief executive Jensen Huang was the target of a Chinese intelligence operation, after Huang confirmed he had an extramarital affair with a woman US officials have accused of working for Beijing.

Nvidia said in a statement on Sunday that a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, would oversee the inquiry. “While the board has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, the board’s inquiry will examine all available information,” the directors said, according to Al Jazeera.

The board added that it retained “confidence in Jensen and his leadership team” and that “the Board prioritizes US national and economic security.” Huang, 63, will continue to run the company during the investigation. “Today’s news will not slow NVIDIA. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption,” a company spokesperson told CNN.

Huang’s statement

In a note to staff, Huang said he had been “unfaithful” and had hurt his wife and children. He did not name the other person.

“I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it,” he said, adding that he supports the company’s investigation and is “committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security.”

What the reporting alleges

The inquiry follows reporting by The New York Times, which said on 29 October that a Chinese woman named Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le and of no relation to the Nvidia chief, had sought to cultivate close ties with him in order to obtain information about Nvidia’s technology.

The Times also reported that Alice Huang’s employer, Megaspeed — described by CNN as a Singapore-based technology company — had become one of Nvidia’s largest customers, buying some US$4.8 billion in equipment from the firm. The Financial Times has separately reported that US intelligence believed the two were in a romantic relationship.

Nvidia has previously said Huang’s meetings were “not unusual or unexpected,” adding that “meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job” and that concerns about illegal chip diversion were “debunked last year.”

Hiru News, reporting the story for Sri Lankan readers, described the inquiry as covering both the reports that Huang had become a target of Chinese intelligence agencies and his alleged relationship with a person said to be a Chinese agent.

Political fallout

The reports drew bipartisan criticism in the US Congress. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement that “for months, bipartisan members of Congress have raised concerns about NVIDIA’s advanced AI chips going to China,” adding that “NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang and NVIDIA’s board owe Congress answers.”

Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives have called on Huang to testify before Congress about the matter on 18 November.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993. Demand for its chips during the artificial intelligence boom has pushed its market value above US$4 trillion, making it a central player in the technology contest between Washington and Beijing. The United States has for years restricted exports of advanced chips to China.

What is not established

Alice Huang has not been charged, and none of the reports cited above describes a finding by a court or a regulator. Nvidia’s board states that it has seen no indication that national security or company secrets were compromised. This desk has not independently verified the New York Times or Financial Times reporting, neither of which is reproduced here beyond the accounts carried by Al Jazeera and CNN.

Nvidia’s chip exports have drawn Sri Lankan attention before: a Taiwan-based Nvidia manager was indicted over alleged chip smuggling in August, and the export-control contest formed the backdrop to China’s open-source AI push at Wuzhen last week.