Nvidia Board Prepares to Review Jensen Huang’s Future Amid National Security Probe
Nvidia’s board is getting ready to consider removing CEO Jensen Huang after opening an independent probe just three days ago.
The board could convene as early as today to weigh Huang’s status following an extramarital connection to Alice Huang, who is reportedly said to be linked to Chinese intelligence, according to The Wall Street Journal. The affair was first disclosed by The New York Times and later met with a Sunday statement from Nvidia saying it would investigate its chief executive. A separate New York Times report also says he had another affair with a manager who worked under him.
This gathering comes after the inquiry announced on Sunday. In that notice, Nvidia said:
- The board advances U.S. national and economic security first, since that matters most to Nvidia and its shareholders.
- There is no basis to conclude that national security or Nvidia secrets were exposed.
- The review will look at every piece of available information.
- Jensen fully backs the process and has agreed to cooperate.
Huang later sent a message to staff, obtained by the BBC, in which he said he had been unfaithful and apologized for the pain caused to his wife and children.
In many respects, Jensen Huang has become the public face of AI in the United States, so it is understandable that Nvidia’s board would want to bring this matter under control. The company’s chips support almost every AI model now in operation, making a security lapse of this magnitude a major risk. As a co-founder who has been at the helm of Nvidia since 1993, Huang’s removal could have far-reaching consequences.
IGN has contacted Nvidia for comment and will revise this story once a response is received.
Photo by Joel Saget / AFP via Getty Images.
Jackie Thomas serves as Senior Tech Editor at IGN and is known as the PC components queen. She has spent over ten years covering gaming hardware for IGN, TechRadar, Gizmodo, PC Gamer, and more. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
