International and technological conflict. The American semiconductor giant Nvidia has launched an independent investigation against its CEO, Jensen Huang, after it came to light that he had an extramarital affair. Apart from knowing the personal aspects of his life, this alleged infidelity would be with the Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, linked to the Ministry of State Security of China; some ‘horns’ that have set off all the alarms in Washington.
It was through an email sent to Nvidia staff that the head of the technology company has publicly admitted the infidelity and has apologized to his family and workers, although he continues to defend his commitment to Nvidia and denies having revealed business secrets.
What is the Nvidia scandal about?
The scandal was triggered by an investigation by The New York Times on October 29 when the media published that Jensen Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang (despite sharing a last name, they are not related). US authorities had concerns about the woman’s alleged ties to Chinese intelligence, amid a fight between the United States and China for technological leadership. Furthermore, these concerns were conveyed to the Donald Trump Administration.
After both The New York Times and the Financial Times published that Alice had been recruited by the Chinese Ministry of State Security, the opening of an internal investigation was announced to clarify the facts. Regarding this, the board of directors of Nvidia has commissioned this investigation to a committee of directors and external legal advisors with the aim of determining whether the director of the technology company was the target of an operation by China to influence access to information and the most advanced artificial intelligence chips they have.
Who is Alice Huang?
Alice Huang, who, as mentioned, is not related to Jensen Huang, is a Chinese businesswoman and former director of the Singaporean company Megaspeed International, specialized in computer services. She assumed the management of this company in March 2023, although in November of that year she stopped appearing as a director of this company.
The evidence from the investigation places the businesswoman at the center of suspicion due to the alleged diversion to China of processors that were subject to trade restrictions, something that the technology company denies and claims to have investigated and denied.
Her professional career is difficult to verify, since there are several reports that put Alice Huang at four years of experience in communications and eight in the stock market sector, with alleged work as a journalist. Furthermore, public information about this woman remains scarce and it has not been confirmed where she is currently located or what professional activities she carries out after leaving Megaspeed’s registered address, although North American intelligence indicates her as an alleged agent recruited by the Chinese Ministry of State Security to get closer to Jensen’s management environment and facilitate access to strategic components.
Nvidia stock market fall
The announcement of Nvidia’s internal investigations has shaken the financial market, causing the technology company’s shares to fall by up to 6%. The rejection of investors responds to the uncertainty about the future of Jensen Huang, one of the largest and most important figures in the technology industry as the co-founder and owner of more than 3.5% of the company’s capital.
With this collapse, Nvidia accumulates a loss of more than 26% since its historical highs recorded at the beginning of October, losing more than 1.5 trillion dollars in terms of market value.
Trump defends Nvidia CEO
As for what Trump knew about the case, the US president has expressed his support for the CEO and founder of the technology company Nvidia, ensuring that he should remain in his position at the head of the company. “I haven’t talked to him about this, I just know that he’s a good person. You never really know what happened,” Trump said.
