In a report published by The New York Times on October 29, it was stated that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had fallen into China’s espionage trap.
China’s espionage tactic involves getting female spies close to key leaders of the world’s leading companies in order to obtain their secrets.
Nvidia is one of the world’s leading chip companies. Now, it is said that the company’s CEO himself has fallen into this trap.
Acknowledging this, Jensen Huang has sent a personal email to his family and employees.
Jensen Huang’s email
According to information released by Axios, the message contained in that email...
“I am obligated to apologize to my family and to all of you. I have betrayed my wife.
My actions have deeply hurt him and our children.
There is no excuse or justification for what I did. I sincerely apologize for this.
Throughout my life, my family has given me love and support. They deserve nothing less than honesty and loyalty from me.
But I betrayed them and damaged the life we built together.
I take full responsibility for my mistake and the hurt it caused.
I also accept the criticism that comes as a result.
To my wife and family: I love you. I know that an apology cannot undo the mistake I made.
I hope our family will recover from this wound, and that over time I will regain your trust.
To all NVIDIA employees, including the colleagues who have worked with me for more than a decade, to our executive team, partners, and stakeholders around the world: You deserve guidance from someone better than me.
Leading NVIDIA has been the greatest privilege of my life. My duty is to serve you and be worthy of your trust. I have failed in that duty.
I am fully committed to Nvidia. I will work to regain your trust.
Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, Nvidia has launched an independent investigation.
I will provide my full support and full cooperation to this investigation. I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America’s national security.
I am proud and grateful to be an American.
"My family is not responsible for my choices. I alone am responsible. I request that you please grant them personal privacy," she noted in the email.
Nvidia will conduct an internal investigation into this incident.
Who is that spy?
Huang Le is said to have been the one who was close to Jensen Huang. He also has another name, Alice Huang.
He has worked as a senior executive at a data center company called “Megaspeed,” based in Singapore. He is Chinese.
According to The New York Times, Megaspeed has been operating as an intermediary company that buys computer equipment powered by Nvidia chips and rents out data center facilities to companies including China’s Alibaba.
Alice Huang previously served as a senior executive at Megaspeed. Her position, along with Megaspeed’s business ties with Nvidia, is said to have brought her into contact with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
According to The Guardian, U.S. authorities had already suspected that he helped smuggle Nvidia chips into China. As a result, he has been placed under continuous surveillance.
Citing national security threats, the U.S. government has imposed strict restrictions on exporting advanced AI chips to Beijing.
U.S. officials suspect that Alice Huang helped Chinese businesses obtain technologies through Megaspeed that China could not otherwise access because of these restrictions.
Jensen Huang is one of the most influential figures in the U.S. artificial intelligence sector.
Because Nvidia’s cutting-edge chips are so important to the growth of AI systems, Nvidia is seen as a key company for the United States to maintain its lead in the technology race against China.
Jensen Huang is an important liaison to the Trump administration on issues of technology, manufacturing, jobs, and national security.
According to The New York Times report, U.S. intelligence officials suspect that through contacts with the Nvidia CEO, Alice Huang may have obtained information about Nvidia’s business plans.
Moreover, questions have also arisen as to whether such conversations may have enabled Beijing to learn about Trump’s ideas regarding chip exports to China.