Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: Trump Says FBI Is Looking Into Affair
US President Donald Trump said the FBI is looking into Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy. Nvidia shares fell more than 4% on Monday, erasing about $250bn in value, while the Justice Department separately investigates a Singapore company tied to the case.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI is looking into the affair between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and an alleged Chinese spy, though he did not say whether agents investigate the Nvidia CEO himself. He gave no detail on the scope of the inquiry or when it began. The FBI declined to comment.
Nvidia's share price fell by more than 4% on Monday, knocking about $250bn (£190bn) off its value. Nvidia is the world's second most valuable company after Apple. It designs the computer chips that have become central to AI technology.
What Trump said
Trump told reporters he phoned Huang on Monday "just to see if he's feeling alright." He said he asked whether Huang knew the woman was a spy. "I had no idea she was a spy," Trump quoted Huang as replying, and added: "I really believe him."
Asked several times when he learned of the relationship, Trump said he was informed "over a period of time" but gave no specifics. He called Huang an "honourable guy" and said he hoped there was "no problem."
On the FBI, Trump said: "I know the FBI is looking into it, in terms of something else." He did not elaborate. He also said he was "sure" Chinese leader Xi Jinping would "ask me about it" when they next met.
The Megaspeed link
US intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, spied for Beijing, according to a New York Times report. She is not related to Jensen Huang. She was managing director of Megaspeed, a Singapore company that has dealt with Nvidia.
A source familiar with the matter said the Justice Department is running a criminal investigation into Megaspeed. It focuses on allegations that the company helped ship Nvidia AI chips to customers in China, which would break strict US export controls.
The National Security Division leads the probe, working with the FBI and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. Investigators are also looking at people tied to Megaspeed, including Alice Huang, and at whether China recruited her to help smuggle the chips. The Justice Department declined to comment.
Nvidia, Beijing and Congress respond
Nvidia's board announced on Sunday an independent investigation into reports that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. Huang said he had been "unfaithful to my wife" and apologized to Nvidia employees. Nvidia has said he will remain CEO and that it has no reason to believe company secrets or national security were compromised.
Beijing rejected the claims. China's foreign ministry called them "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China."
Also on Monday, Huang and Nvidia were sued in a proposed class action in California. It accuses them of defrauding shareholders by concealing his ties to the suspected spy, and alleges the company lied to the media about the relationship.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called for "a full briefing." Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., said in a joint statement that Congress should "take decisive action" on oversight of AI-linked companies.
Washington treats Nvidia's chip exports to China as a national security matter, which is why the affair has drawn such scrutiny. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's remarks.
