United States President Donald Trump announced that the FBI has initiated an inquiry into Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's past relationship with Alice Huang, a woman accused of operating as an intelligence agent for China. Speaking at a White House news conference on Monday, Trump stated that law enforcement agencies began looking into the matter following revelations about the affair.
According to the US president, Huang maintained he had no awareness of the woman's alleged espionage ties. Trump defended the chief executive, remarking that he believes Huang was entirely unaware of any intelligence work.
The controversy surfaced after recent media reports, citing unnamed US officials, alleged that Jensen Huang had been targeted for information gathering by Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed. Nvidia's board of directors subsequently launched an independent investigation overseen by outside counsel. The board noted it currently has no evidence indicating that company secrets or national security were breached.
In an earlier statement acknowledging the relationship, Jensen Huang issued an apology to his family, shareholders, and colleagues, while committing full cooperation with the corporate probe. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the accusations as baseless speculation and a smear campaign. Meanwhile, Nvidia shares dropped 4.27 percent on Monday, closing at $178.67.