Nvidia has hired New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate CEO Jensen Huang’s personal relationship with an executive at one of its customer companies. The matter has raised questions about corporate governance, customer ties and national security. The FBI is conducting a separate investigation, while Nvidia’s board has said it sees no reason to believe company secrets or national security were compromised.
Wachtell partner Joon Kim to lead inquiry
Nvidia said on Tuesday that Wachtell partner Joon Kim would lead a “comprehensive and independent investigation.” Kim is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and has spent years in government, working on fraud and other criminal cases. Wachtell is one of the largest U.S. law firms, with clients including OpenAI and Salesforce.
People familiar with Nvidia’s internal discussions said the company wants to move quickly. It remains unclear whether investigators will be able to interview Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, who is not related to Jensen Huang. An Nvidia spokesperson did not respond on Tuesday when asked whether the CEO had hired separate personal counsel to address the company’s inquiry and the FBI investigation.
Alice Huang was an executive at an Nvidia customer
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has acknowledged having a romantic relationship with a woman other than his wife. The woman, Alice Huang, previously held an executive role at Singapore-based Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer. U.S. authorities have alleged that she was a Chinese spy; that allegation has not been substantiated in the information available here.
Megaspeed had previously drawn scrutiny over allegations that it helped divert Nvidia chips to China. Nvidia said it investigated those concerns and found them unfounded. The claims involving a customer relationship have put the personal relationship under scrutiny from both a governance and business perspective.
Shares near a one-year low as Congress seeks briefing
Nvidia shares fell to near a one-year low on Tuesday. The company has lost more than $500 billion in market value since Friday, or about £375 billion, even as technology stocks recovered some ground after last week’s sell-off. Nvidia is central to the U.S. artificial intelligence boom, with its chips widely used to run AI tools, making its share-price moves closely watched by markets.
Leaders of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing next week. He has not said whether he will appear. Committee chairman Brian Mast said the panel would subpoena Huang if necessary. When Nvidia’s board announced its investigation on Sunday, it said there was no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been affected.
Huang has long been one of Nvidia’s most prominent public representatives and an advocate for the AI industry’s prospects. The investigations are ongoing. Key questions include whether company investigators can obtain statements from the people involved, how the FBI inquiry progresses and whether Huang responds to Congress’s request.