The board of Nvidia, the world's most valuable chipmaker, has opened an independent investigation into chief executive Jensen Huang's relationship with a businesswoman whom US intelligence agencies reportedly believe was working for China.
The woman, Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based cloud company and Nvidia customer. The New York Times reported that US officials believe a Chinese intelligence service recruited her to gather information on the Nvidia boss. She did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment.
In an email to staff, Mr Huang acknowledged a personal relationship with the woman and apologised to his family, CNBC reported. He remains in his post while the review is carried out.
Megaspeed bought about $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over two years, according to the Times, and US authorities have examined whether it helped Chinese companies obtain advanced AI processors that are banned from export to China. Nvidia has previously said that allegations of chips being diverted were investigated and found to be untrue, and Mr Huang has described the company's business with Megaspeed as normal.
Three senior Republican committee chairs in the House of Representatives have asked Mr Huang to give a closed-door briefing on November 18 about the reports and Nvidia's protections against foreign espionage.