Nvidia will keep investigating Jensen Huang, The Information reports
Nvidia plans to keep investigating whether Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, Jessica E. Lessin reported for The Information, citing a person familiar with the situation. Huang resigned as chief executive on Thursday. Nvidia is expected to issue a statement saying it is not dropping the inquiry, The Information said. At […] This story continues at The Next Web
Nvidia plans to keep investigating whether Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, Jessica E. Lessin reported for The Information , citing a person familiar with the situation. Huang resigned as chief executive on Thursday. Nvidia is expected to issue a statement saying it is not dropping the inquiry, The Information said. At the time of writing, Nvidia had not published one.
The board opened the investigation on 8 November and hired former federal prosecutor Joon Kim to lead the review .
Three Republican committee chairs have given Huang until Friday evening to confirm a closed-door, transcribed interview on 1 December, or face a subpoena, Politico reported . The same chairs first asked him to explain the reported spy link earlier this month. Huang has since agreed to testify, Politico said.
In the Senate, Banking Committee chair Tim Scott wants Huang to appear on 3 December and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on 10 December, CNBC reported . Scott is threatening to subpoena Huang if necessary, according to Politico. Lutnick has agreed to appear.
Lutnick “has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the Banking Committee to address their questions,” a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Huang had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice-president of healthcare, who reported to him. After he resigned, Reuters reported that he also had an intimate relationship with a second Nvidia employee, citing two people familiar with the matter. Reuters did not name her, and Nvidia declined to comment. TNW has not independently verified either report.
Huang has also hired the law firm Paul Weiss, The New York Times reported . It is not clear what the firm will handle for him.
Several Justice Department probes could sweep up Nvidia, Semafor’s Rohan Goswami reported , citing two administration officials. One, on antitrust grounds, focuses on the chipmaker. Two others look at Megaspeed and Supermicro, and at Alice Huang’s role. There is no sign the department would seek to charge Nvidia or Huang criminally at this time, Semafor said.
“Megaspeed is not, and has never been, a Supermicro customer,” a Supermicro spokesperson told Semafor.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday that the department has not concluded whether Alice Huang was a spy, Reuters reported . Beijing has denied she is one. Megaspeed is also the subject of a Malaysian chip probe .
Senior White House officials are discussing whether to push Lutnick out, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. A White House official said on Thursday that Trump “maintains complete confidence” in him.
“If Trump wants to show that he gets it and he hears people, he fires Lutnick next week,” Senator Chris Coons told Politico.
Interim chief executive Colette Kress told staff the company will hold a meeting on 18 November, Reuters reported. Nvidia will report its third-quarter results on Tuesday, 17 November, as previously scheduled .