Why Nvidia CEO's affair with alleged Chinese spy matters for AI race

Jensen Huang (right), who co-founded Nvidia in 1993, has a close relationship with President Donald Trump Image: Joyce N. Boghosian/White House/ZUMA/picture alliance

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's admission to an affair with a woman whom US intelligence officials believe was working as a spy for China could have profound implications for the $5 trillion (€4.47 trillion) company.

The Financial Times first reported on Huang's affair with Alice H., an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer of Nvidia, which has been suspected of trying to circumvent export controls to get advanced Nvidia chips into China.

The newspaper reported that the US government and its intelligence community believe she was recruited as a spy by China's Ministry of State Security intelligence agency.

US government officials drafted a memo about the allegations shortly before US President Donald Trump traveled to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping in May.

Huang's relationship with the alleged Chinese spy has exposed him and the company to criticism that it may have allowed China to obtain valuable trade secrets as Beijing tries to gain an edge in the race to develop advanced AI models.

Nvidia is initiating an investigation led by independent board members and an external law firm. It said in a statement that Huang "has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort."

Copyright for this text belongs to Deutsche Welle.