Nvidia CEO's affair linked to $7.5 billion in AI chip shipments to China, probe finds

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with a Chinese businesswoman suspected of spying for Beijing helped enable at least $7.5 billion in AI chip shipments to China, according to a report, prompting an internal board investigation and FBI scrutiny. The businesswoman, Alice Huang, built a network of firms in China and Singapore to obtain roughly 240,000 chips, including H100, H200, and A100 models, for Chinese companies. Her hub firm, Shanghai Century Litong, became an Nvidia preferred cloud partner in October 2023, with some hardware supporting Alibaba and Tencent. Jensen Huang confirmed the affair on Sunday, and Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation. The FBI is examining whether he was targeted by foreign intelligence, while he is scheduled to appear before House committees on Nov. 18 to discuss security protocols.