Nvidia's board retained law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate CEO Jensen Huang after he admitted to an affair with a woman connected to Chinese intelligence. The board appointed former acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim to lead the probe into whether company secrets or national security were compromised.
Huang acknowledged the affair in an email to staff on Sunday, stating "My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did" while emphasizing his support for U.S. national security. An Nvidia representative said Huang remains committed to continuing as CEO without interruption.
The woman, Alice Huang, has been affiliated with Nvidia customer Megaspeed. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded she is passing information to Beijing and is involved with Chinese intelligence, according to reports from The New York Times and Financial Times.
Nvidia stock fell 6% on Tuesday following the disclosure, after dropping more than 4% on Monday. Investors worry the investigation and scandal could force Huang out as co-founder and CEO. The board said on Sunday it has no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.
Huang is the public face of Nvidia and the AI industry, meeting with presidents and CEOs globally as Nvidia technology powers nearly all major AI models.