Jensen Huang Had No Idea Woman Was a Spy, Trump Says
US President Donald Trump said the FBI is investigating Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy. He said Huang told him he had no idea. Beijing rejects the claims, and Nvidia shares fell more than 4% on Monday.
US President Donald Trump said the FBI is investigating Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy, and that Huang told him he had no idea of her background. Trump spoke to reporters after reports that the US believed Huang had been targeted in a Chinese espionage campaign.
Trump said he phoned Huang on Monday. "I asked him that question, 'Did you have any idea she was a spy?' He said 'I had no idea she was a spy' and I really believe him," Trump said.
At a later White House briefing, Trump said, "I know the FBI is looking into" the affair. He gave no further details and did not say when the investigation began. The FBI declined to comment.
Asked several times when he learned of the relationship, Trump said he was informed "over a period of time" but would not be more specific. He called Huang an "honourable guy" and said he felt "very confident that he will be in good shape" after the investigations.
Market and legal fallout
The revelations knocked about $250bn (£190bn) off Nvidia's value on Monday, as its share price fell by more than 4%. Nvidia is the world's second most valuable company after Apple. It designs computer chips that have become central to artificial intelligence.
Huang and Nvidia were also sued on Monday in a proposed class action in California. The suit accuses them of defrauding shareholders by concealing his ties with the suspected spy. It alleges the company lied to the media about the relationship.
The suit describes the woman as someone "who is suspected of seeking to help smuggle Nvidia products to China."
Who Alice Huang is
US intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, spied for Beijing. She is not related to Jensen Huang. She was managing director of Singaporean company Megaspeed, which has had dealings with Nvidia.
According to reports, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a memo to top officials in Washington in spring this year. It warned that the Nvidia boss was in a close relationship with a Chinese spy.
China's foreign ministry rejected the claims. It called the allegations "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China".
Nvidia has commissioned an independent investigation. It said it had no reason to believe its secrets or national security were compromised. Washington treats Nvidia's chip exports to China as a national security matter, which is why the affair has raised concern.
Megaspeed's Singapore office appeared to be operating on Tuesday. A staff member reached by phone declined to comment and referred all queries to the company's PR team.
Trump has warned that letting China lead in AI would supercharge Beijing's military and surveillance capabilities. Of Huang, he said: "I hope there's no problem, I believe he is suffering greatly."
