Nvidia Board Eyes CEO Jensen Huang's Removal Amid Spy Allegations

The Nvidia board is preparing to vote on whether to remove CEO Jensen Huang from his position as founder and chief executive. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the board members are scheduled to meet as early as Wednesday to determine Huang's future at the company.

The potential ouster follows intense scrutiny of Huang's personal conduct and a foreign intelligence inquiry. The New York Times reported nearly two weeks ago that Huang maintained a close relationship with Alice Huang, a senior executive at the Singapore-based data firm Megaspeed. The paper identified Alice Huang as an alleged Chinese government agent. On Wednesday, The Times added that Jensen Huang also allegedly had an extramarital relationship with a female executive at Nvidia who reports directly to him.

Sources within the company told The New York Times that the two executives were captured on video behaving affectionately at a hotel during an Nvidia conference in March. The paper noted it had not viewed the footage. ABC News has not independently verified the reporting or the existence of the video.

In an internal message to employees shared with ABC News on Sunday, Jensen Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife. He stated that his actions hurt his wife and children and that he was deeply sorry. He did not name Alice Huang or the other executive in the letter. Huang told staff that he was fully committed to Nvidia and pledged to work to earn back their confidence.

Nvidia launched an independent investigation on Sunday in response to reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The company said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee the review. The board stated it has no reason to believe that national security or company secrets were compromised, but the inquiry will examine all available information.

The situation has drawn attention from Washington. Congressional Republicans on the Select Committee on China sent a letter requesting that Huang appear for a closed-door briefing on November 18. Rep. Brian Mast, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Tuesday that he is prepared to subpoena Huang if he does not respond to a request by Wednesday.

President Donald Trump said he spoke with Huang on Monday about the allegations. Trump told reporters that he asked Huang if he knew the woman was a spy. Huang reportedly replied that he had no idea, and the president said he believed him.

The Chinese government denied the allegations, calling them baseless smears against China. Neither Alice Huang nor Megaspeed International responded to requests for comment. Nvidia remains a critical supplier of chips for artificial intelligence computing servers.