Nvidia's board of directors announced on Sunday that it had launched an independent investigation, following reports that the company's chief executive, Jensen Huang, had been the target of a Chinese espionage operation.
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Nvidia also published a message from Huang to the company's employees, in which he acknowledged having an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based semiconductor company. He did not name her in the message.
An earlier memo circulated among US policymakers this year claimed that China's Ministry of State Security had recruited Alice Huang to spy on the chief executive of Nvidia.
In his message, Jensen Huang wrote: "I owe my family and all of you an apology. I betrayed my wife, and my actions have hurt her and our children. There is no justification for what I did, and I feel deep regret."
He added that he had not lived up to the responsibility he bears towards the company.
"To my colleagues at Nvidia, including those I have worked alongside for decades, and to our board, partners and shareholders around the world, you deserve better from me," he said.
As competition between the United States and China in artificial intelligence intensifies, semiconductors, and in particular those produced by Nvidia, have become a central focus of the race.
Huang also appears to have a close relationship with US President Donald Trump, one of the most prominent backers of the AI industry, or what is known as "superintelligence".
In its announcement, Nvidia's board said it had "no reason to believe" that national security or the company's secrets had been compromised.
The board said Huang "fully supports the review and has pledged to cooperate with it", and stressed that the board "trusts Jensen and his leadership team".
The investigation will be carried out by independent board members, working with outside legal advisers.
Responding to earlier reports about its chief executive's relationship with Alice Huang, Nvidia had said that interactions between the two were "not unusual", and that the company does not share confidential information with its customers.
Separately, other companies taking part in the AI boom have warned their staff about the possibility of espionage attempts, including those that may exploit sexual temptation or emotional relationships as a means of gaining access to information.
Source: Al-Ghad.
