THE Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy, US President Donald Trump has confirmed, amid growing concerns over potential espionage involving the American chipmaker.
Trump said he spoke to Huang on Monday and asked whether he knew that the woman, identified as Alice Huang, was allegedly involved in Chinese espionage.
"I asked him that question, 'Did you have any idea she was a spy?' He said 'I had no idea she was a spy' and I really believe him," the BBC cited Trump saying at the White House.
He confirmed that the FBI was looking into the matter but did not disclose when the investigation began or provide details of its scope.
The FBI declined to comment.
US intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was working as a spy for Beijing, according to a report by The New York Times. She is not related to the Nvidia chief executive.
The newspaper reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had sent a memo to senior officials in Washington last spring warning that Huang was in a close relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.
Alice Huang was managing director of Singapore-based Megaspeed, a company that had dealings with Nvidia.
Nvidia said it had commissioned an independent investigation into the matter but had no reason to believe its trade secrets or US national security had been compromised.
The company said Huang was committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting American national security, and would cooperate with the investigation.
The controversy has also triggered financial and legal repercussions for the chipmaker. Nvidia shares fell more than four per cent on Monday, wiping about US$250 billion off its market value.
Huang and Nvidia were also named in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in California, accusing them of misleading shareholders by concealing his alleged ties to the woman.
The lawsuit alleges that Nvidia misrepresented Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, who was suspected of seeking to help smuggle the company's products into China.
Huang has acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and apologised for hurting her and their children.
He has also been asked to attend a joint closed-door briefing with several Congressional committees next week on Nvidia's security protocols against foreign espionage and his interactions with Alice Huang. It remains unclear whether he will attend.
The case has drawn particular attention because Nvidia is a central player in the US-China competition over artificial intelligence, with its advanced semiconductors regarded as strategically important to Washington.
Trump has repeatedly warned that China's dominance in AI could strengthen its military and surveillance capabilities.
Beijing has rejected the espionage allegations, with its Foreign Ministry describing them as "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China".
Nvidia, co-founded by Huang in 1993, is the world's second most valuable company after Apple, with its processors powering much of the global AI industry.
The US has imposed restrictions on exports of advanced Nvidia chips to China over national security concerns. Although the Trump administration said in January it would allow sales of the H200 chip to Chinese customers under certain conditions, the company's most advanced GB200 Blackwell processors remain barred from the Chinese market. - November 10, 2026
