Shareholders of American technology company Nvidia have filed a lawsuit against the firm and its Chief Executive Officer, Jensen Huang, over an alleged affair with a suspected Chinese spy, which reportedly exposed the company to national security concerns and financial losses.
The suit followed reports that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, a senior executive at Qatar-based MegaSpeed. The controversy reportedly wiped more than $230 million off Nvidia’s market value.
According to CBS, the shareholders claimed that the alleged misconduct and subsequent decline in the company’s share value had caused significant financial losses to investors.
The case has also drawn attention amid growing tensions between the United States and China over artificial intelligence technology. Washington has restricted the export of advanced AI chips to Beijing as both countries compete for dominance in the sector.
However, MegaSpeed reportedly purchased more than $4 billion worth of AI chips from Nvidia, prompting concerns over whether the transactions violated US export restrictions.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating whether Alice Huang circumvented the restrictions and used her alleged relationship with the Nvidia boss to facilitate the transfer of the chips to China.
Jensen Huang, 63, who was born in Taiwan, shares a surname with the woman at the centre of the allegations, although the two are not related.
The Nvidia chief acknowledged the affair in a letter to employees on Sunday, admitting that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologising to her and their children.
“I was unfaithful to my wife,” he said, adding that his actions had hurt his family and that he had no excuse for his conduct.
Huang has been married to his wife, Lori, for approximately four decades.
