Nvidia hires law firm to investigate CEO Jensen Huang's affair as shareholder lawsuit is filed

Nvidia has brought in the New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to examine chief executive Jensen Huang's extramarital relationship with a woman whom US intelligence reportedly believes was gathering information for Beijing, BBC News reported.

The company said on Tuesday that Wachtell attorney Joon Kim, a former US Attorney for New York's Southern District, will lead the review, according to the BBC. A committee of independent directors will oversee it. When the board announced the inquiry on Sunday, it said it had no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised.

The FBI is conducting its own investigation. PBS NewsHour, carrying an Associated Press report, said President Donald Trump told reporters the bureau is "looking into" the matter. Trump also said Huang told him he did not know the woman was a spy, and that he believed him. Trump added that Huang would be "in good shape."

The woman is a former executive of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer, and is not related to the CEO, both outlets reported. Citing The New York Times, PBS said Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion in Nvidia chips over two years and had been examined by the Commerce Department over suspicions it was helping bypass US export limits on chip sales to China. Nvidia has said its compliance team found no wrongdoing, and the BBC reported the company says Washington never told it Megaspeed was an intelligence concern.

A shareholder, retail investor Mark Kistenmacher, has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in a California court accusing Nvidia and Huang of misleading investors, PBS reported. The complaint alleges the company failed to disclose the affair and made false statements about its ties to Megaspeed. It seeks unspecified damages for investors who bought shares between October 9 and November 8. Nvidia did not immediately comment, according to PBS.

Huang has acknowledged the relationship and apologized to his wife, family and company in an open letter. "I support the investigation and will cooperate fully," he wrote, as quoted by PBS.

The outlets reported market losses over different time frames. PBS said Nvidia shares fell 4.3% on Monday, erasing about $190 billion in value, while the BBC said roughly $500 billion had been wiped off since Friday.

Beijing has rejected the allegations, with China's foreign ministry calling them an effort to smear the country, the BBC reported. According to the BBC, citing The New York Times, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier warned senior officials about the relationship in a memo.

Congressional interest is growing. Leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing next week, and he has not said whether he will appear, the BBC reported. PBS said Democrats Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries have expressed interest in further investigation.

Compiled by True News from reporting by BBC News and PBS NewsHour. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/955