'What a mess': Tech expert on Nvidia CEO's spy scandal

Nvidia, one of the world's. leading AI chip makers, says that it is. launching an independent investigation. into founder and CEO Jensen Huang. This comes as concerns. grow over Long's interactions. with mega speed. AI executive Alice. Huang, an alleged. Chinese intelligence asset. And now even though they share surnames, they are not related. Amid the scrutiny, Nvidia's CEO. has also admitted. to having an extramarital affair. with an unnamed individual. CNN's Will Ripley reports from Taipei.

This story is dominating the headlines. here in Taipei, where Jensen Huang was filmed, with a woman now. at the center of a suspected. Chinese spy scandal. The Nvidia CEO. is facing an independent investigation. by his own company. In a message to employees, Huang writes. I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There's no excuse for what I did. I'm deeply sorry. That apology is exploding. on Chinese social media. Drawing more than 40 million. views on Weibo. as of Monday morning, local time,

much of the discussion. focuses on his infidelity. rather than the alleged spying. But there is an important distinction. here. Huang's statement. does not identify the person involved. And it does not confirm an affair. with this woman. The corporate. executive identified. by The New York Times as Alice Huang. No relation to Jensen. The times reports US. intelligence concluded. she was passing information. to Beijing. and had developed. a close relationship with Jensen. CNN has not independently. verified her identity.

or those intelligence findings. They were filmed. leaving a private dinner together. here in Taipei last year. The two were also photographed. together at a Taipei bar. in 2024 during the Computex. technology show. Now, Nvidia. board says independent directors. and outside. lawyers will investigate. the reported foreign intelligence effort. The board says, quote, 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.

Huang says he will cooperate fully. And President Trump is standing by him. I just know he's a fine person, but you never know what is going on. I'm sure I hope everything's fine. And he's done such an incredible job. And, I would certainly hope. he's a fine person in my opinion. Hi tech. Do you wish that you had acted. on the intelligence. when you were briefed about spying? I think, you know, I think he's an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. Now, congressional Republicans.

are seeking a briefing. from Huang on November 18th. Beijing rejects. the allegations, and Nvidia says it has no reason. to believe. that any secrets were compromised. But no doubt there is much more to. come on this story. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei. With us now is technology. journalist Jacob Ward. He's a CNN contributor. and founder of the RIP current.com. First of all, Jacob, just explain to our viewers. the significance of this. What a mess. I mean, Pamela, what a mess, right? This is the guy at the center of,

as Hadas describes so well. There. You know, one of the most consequential companies. in the United States, if not in the world. I mean, it is the centerpiece. I believe that the latest, the last market numbers, this one company. accounted for 8% of the S&P 500, right. It's the centerpiece. of a very circular piece of. of vendor financing in which it's. pouring money into its own customers. and keeping the whole hyper. scaling, you know, frontier model building world alive.

And he's tight with President Trump. So, so you have a guy who's literally. he's the face of the AI revolution. And even more difficult for him. is the the incredible number of times. he has said in public. that he thinks export controls on. China were a bad idea. and should be walked back. He said it, you know, a half dozen times in public. and now all of that. gets called into questions. They're going to have a have. an earnings call. Pretty soon, Pamela.

And I have to imagine. that is going to be a rough conversation. It appears. he still has the support. of Nvidia's board. But despite this investigation, do you expect that support will continue? They are in an. impossible position at this board. because on the one hand, they have, you know, if you look at past. instances of executives. lying to a board about an affair, they tend to be tossed out. We've seen that, you know, the CEO of Intel, once upon a time, McDonald's, Nestlé, these various companies, when they've discovered that there's. an inappropriate relationship.

and that the CEO has been lying, they tend to toss them out. But in this case, this is the most valuable, I guess, second. most valuable company in the world. And this is a guy. who has built a unique position. for himself, essentially as kind of emperor. inside this company. He reports a 60 people. report to him direct, and he is famous. for that structure, having built a system. that he controls, sort of. Absolutely. He oversees the details. of every part of that company. So who's the second in command. to put in first?

There's Colette. Kress, the CFO of the company. You know, she'd be my pick, maybe. But, you know, there's. no clear second in command. So the normal rules of tossing out. someone who's been found lying. to lying to people about about an affair, much less lying to them, about an affair, about someone. who may be an intelligence asset. It's unprecedented. I have no idea. what the board's supposed to do here. If he does leave the company, how do you think. investors would view that? Well, I mean, I think. that his.

he is so synonymous with the company. He is such a face of the company. Right. His, his, you know, leather jackets that he wears at. every interview. have become a collectible. You know, I mean, he's. he is so central to this company's. appearance that I have to assume. that that would be an issue. On the other hand. Right. It is the connections. that this company has to the rest of the. AI field. and its customer base. that really makes the difference here. I think Jensen Huang really had, as I understood it, you know, banked a great deal.

of the future of this company. On the idea. that he was going. to get into the China market. He was the face of that effort. And now that that effort has been, I would argue, compromised. by his compromised relationship. with his intelligence, that this possible intelligence asset, you know, I think that it really affects. the future of a company. that literally, you know, this is a company parallel. with the power of nations. It is the most it is it is. Its GDP exceeds that of most nations. And now its head. has been found. to be potentially compromised. And there's no path forward.

in this weird world. in which the United States. is treating a company. as one of its most valuable. strategic assets, and now the head of it is compromised. in this way. It's a it's an insane story, Pamela. It really is. Jacob Ward. Thank you. Jensen Huang, who is the CEO of Nvidia, the board of his company, is now investigating him. after reports. that he had a romantic relationship. with a woman who U.S. intelligence. apparently thinks is a Chinese spy. Now, Jensen Huang.

is someone who sits next. to President Trump at all. these AI events. President Trump has a close relationship. with him. Again, you are going to be the chair. of Senate Foreign Relations. This could appear. before any number of committees. because it spans, you know, so many different issues. But what specific. questions do you have here? So, John, my core questions. have to do with, first, how much did this compromise. American national security? Second, how much did this relationship contribute. to Jensen. Huang over and over, advocating for the export.

to China of our most advanced AI chips, without which China cannot catch up. to America's advantage? And then third, who knew about this. in the administration? And when there was press. reporting over the weekend. that national security. Advisor and Secretary of State. Marco Rubio led and supervised. the preparation. of a classified report on this matter. that was given to Trump. months and months ago, but no action was taken. Look back to Trump's inauguration,

where he had this. lineup of billionaires. and one trillionaire behind him, the folks. who really funded. and fueled his campaign in 2024. That, to me, was a scene. that the average American looked at. and said, what sort of corruption is going on here, John? I don't want to investigate Jensen Huang. just because I don't like him. It's because I'm concerned. about our national security. and the very real possibility. that laws had been broken. and the American people. have been lied to.

The A.I. chip giant Nvidia, likely to have a pretty bruising session, and certainly at the start, that's the picture. After the company said it launched. an investigation into its own CEO, CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy. Joining us now, the stock of some six. or so percent. Claire, the main concern here is that. Jensen Huang was compromised. by having an extramarital affair. with a woman. who was suspected.

to have been working as a Chinese spy. At least. that is the allegation at this point. This is the first trading. day since the news broke. And we are. seeing it play out with investors badly. at this point. What do you make of what we are seeing? One on the share price and two, what we are hearing, from the company and your sources? Yeah. Becky, obviously. investor is still very much. trying to process. what has happened over the weekend, as Nvidia's. board has said,

it is investigating these reports. that CEO Jensen. Huang was the target. of a foreign intelligence effort. Huang separately admitting. to having an extramarital affair, apologizing for what that has meant. for his family, for this company. and all of that is raising. the question. of whether Jensen Huang could. and will remain the CEO of this company. He has been so central. to Nvidia's success. Since he's founded the company. in a Denny's in 1993. And he has really. sort of continued to position himself. as the main leader of this company,

as it has become one of the world's. most valuable companies, obviously central to the AI boom, because it provides. the technology, the chips. that most big AI companies. run their models on. And so. what happens for the future of Nvidia. really matters. not just for the company, but for the entire AI industry, which, of course, as we. know, Becky is propping up. much of the American economy. This is such an important company. And so that is why investors are watching. this very closely. As you and I have talked about, Nvidia's shares.

were already being weighed. on by these concerns. And these questions about. whether we're in an AI bubble, whether AI infrastructure. spending is outpacing returns. So obviously investors are not happy. to see this, this, these reports, these questions. about Nvidia's future, especially given the fact. that Jensen Huang. has sort of brushed off. the idea of succession. planning in the past. He has said that. he remains. the most important leader. of this company. So this question about whether he remains. CEO of the company is not just does.

Jensen remain CEO, but also if the board decides. that he can't lead this company, who's next? It's not really clear. what executives are in. line who could replace him.