Nvidia hires Wachtell Lipton to investigate CEO Jensen Huang affair

Nvidia’s board of directors has hired law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead an independent investigation into CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang, following reports that he was the target of a Chinese intelligence operation.

The probe will be led by Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who recently joined the firm. Kim was appointed in 2021 as an independent investigator by New York Attorney General Letitia James to probe allegations of sexual harassment by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The board launched the investigation on Sunday after reports of Huang’s romantic relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based cloud provider Megaspeed. The New York Times first brought the relationship to light in an October report alleging the businesswoman had ties to Chinese intelligence. Officials suspected Alice Huang helped funnel advanced Nvidia chips to China, according to the report.

Jensen Huang admitted to an affair in a message to the company on Sunday and pledged to cooperate with the investigation. He did not mention Alice Huang by name. In the message, Huang wrote: "My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did." He also emphasized that he is an American and supports U.S. national security.

An Nvidia representative said at the time that Huang was committed to continuing as CEO of Nvidia without interruption. The board said that Jensen Huang supports the review.

The board said on Sunday that it has no reason to believe either national security nor Nvidia secrets were compromised.

Nvidia’s stock dropped 6% on Tuesday after falling more than 4% on Monday, as investors worry that the investigation and scandal could result in the co-founder and CEO being forced out. Investing.com reported that shares were down around 10% since Monday, trimming the company’s market valuation to $4.06 trillion.

The board has not said how long the inquiry will take, or whether its findings will be made public. Nvidia has also not said whether Huang will step back from any duties while the investigation runs.

China’s foreign ministry has called the espionage claims “nothing but smears against China.” No charges have been reported against Alice Huang or any of the companies named in the reports.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.