A building tied to a company that purchased Nvidia chips sits empty.
That single detail, published Saturday by The New York Times, set off a weekend that ended with the chipmaker’s board investigating its own chief executive.
The Times reported that Nvidia may have sold chips to Chinese companies of doubtful legitimacy, and that those sales came after the Trump administration gave its approval.
New Matrix, one of the buyers, is linked to the vacant building, the paper found.
The newspaper also traced New Matrix’s owners to Chinese private equity firms.
The United States has placed those firms on a trading blacklist, accusing them of helping Beijing acquire sensitive semiconductor companies.
In all, the Times findings rested on three points: the buyers’ questionable credibility, the vacant building and the owners’ financial connections.
Soon after the report appeared, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sent a message to the company’s employees. It had little to do with chips. It turned to a personal matter instead.
He began with an apology to his family and his coworkers.
“To my colleagues at NVIDIA, I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
That apology covered his wife, their children and the Nvidia workforce, and he attached no excuse to it.
The woman involved is Alice Huang, according to reports.
She is a former executive at Megaspeed International, and those reports say Huang was her target. The two share a surname, but they are not related.
U.S. intelligence agencies suspect that she is a Chinese spy.
Nvidia’s board moved to respond. Directors opened an independent investigation while reports circulated that the woman Huang saw works as a spy for China.
The review centers on the national security concerns that surfaced in news coverage of the relationship.
The board’s written statement addressed the possibility of a security breach.
“While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information. Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it.”
Huang tackled the espionage questions in his own letter as well.
He backed the board’s inquiry, promised his full cooperation and said he loves both his country and his company.
He also committed himself to protecting Nvidia and supporting America’s national security.
“Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, NVIDIA’s Board of Directors has initiated an independent investigation. I support the investigation and will cooperate fully. 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,” Huang said.
Huang’s apology and the board’s announcement arrived over the same weekend as the Times report. The stock moved the following Monday.
Markets reacted before Monday’s opening bell. Nvidia shares fell more than 5 percent in premarket trading, following Huang’s admission and the reporting about the suspected spy.
The affair and the spy reports also drew a response from the White House. President Donald Trump weighed in, siding with the CEO while conceding he had not discussed the matter with him.
Trump said:
“I have not spoken to him about it. I just know he’s a fine person, but you never know what is going on.”
By the count, the story now carries one admitted affair, one suspected spy, one empty building, one board investigation and a stock drop of more than 5 percent in premarket trading.
Three public documents anchor the episode: the Times report on the chip buyers, Huang’s email to his staff and the board’s statement announcing its inquiry.
The CEO, the board and the president have each now spoken publicly on the matter.
The inquiry continues. The board says it will examine all available information, and Huang says he will cooperate fully.
