WASHINGTON, Nov 10 — United States (US) President Donald Trump has said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into Nvidia chief executive officer (CEO) Jensen Huang's affair with a Chinese businesswoman, alleged to be a spy for Beijing.
He said he "was amazed" by allegations about Huang, among the President's closest allies in Silicon Valley. Trump said he had spoken to the CEO, who told him that he had no idea that the woman was a spy.
"I know the FBI is looking into it. I think that he will be in good shape," he said on Monday.
Nvidia shares closed down more than four per cent on Monday after the company's board launched an internal investigation into whether Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
The probe, announced on Sunday, has put a spotlight on 63-year-old Huang's future given Nvidia's status as the world's most valuable chipmaker and the CEO's role as the most prolific salesman of the AI boom. Huang told Nvidia's employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife, without disclosing details of the relationship.
The leather-jacketed Huang enjoys rock-star status worldwide, particularly in Asia, where he often mingles freely with fans, taking selfies and signing autographs for his devoted followers.
According to LSEG data, he is Nvidia's fifth-largest shareholder with a roughly 3.6 per cent stake, and keeps a tight grip on the company through an unusually flat structure in which dozens of executives report directly to him.
But unlike Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms or Elon Musk's SpaceX, Nvidia has no dual-class shares that would give co-founder Huang majority voting control.
The New York Times reported that Trump was briefed on Huang's relationship with the woman and that she was giving information to the Chinese government, and that the President chose not to act on the information.
"The so-called Chinese spy narrative is purely a groundless accusation, slander, and a smear," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told the media in Beijing.
Huang's relationship with Trump has coincided with several favourable policy developments for the company, and the President has lavished Huang with praise, awarding him the nation's highest honour for scientific achievement in October.
The same day Trump gave Huang the award, the President disclosed buying up to US$1.6 million (RM6.49 million) and selling up to US$1 million (RM4.05 million) of Nvidia shares during the summer.
'Not an ordinary CEO'
Nvidia said its board has confidence in Huang, whom many on Wall Street see as the most important person underpinning the AI trade. Analysts acknowledged uncertainty around succession, but most do not expect the investigation to result in the longtime CEO stepping down.
"Nvidia is not an ordinary company, and Jensen is not an ordinary CEO; he is Nvidia, clearly sets the long-term strategy and direction, and pulls most of the company's strings himself," said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon.
Nvidia shareholders quickly sued Huang and the company in a proposed class action on Monday, accusing them of defrauding shareholders by concealing Huang's ties to a suspected Chinese spy.
Lawmakers and advocates told Reuters that Congress is more likely to pass legislation to tighten China's access to AI chips in light of news of Huang's relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence agent.
On Monday, US House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said that Congress needs more answers and called for the House to pass an annual defence bill that includes restrictions on chip sales to China.
Last month, The New York Times reported that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, an unrelated former executive of Singapore-based company Megaspeed, who US authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset.
Megaspeed did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Monday, a public holiday in Singapore.
Alice Huang did not respond to The New York Times last month when it first reported her relationship with Huang, and Reuters could not determine her location to seek comment on Monday.
