How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's extramarital affair could cause collateral damage in Washington

Detailed summary

Extramarital affairs are usually private matters. Jensen Huang’s has global implications.

WASHINGTON — Extramarital affairs are usually private matters. Jensen Huang’s has global implications.

The 63-year-old is the leading face of the artificial intelligence revolution with his black leather jackets and fluff of gray hair.

He runs the company Nvidia, which produces highly coveted computer chips. That’s landed him on a late-night-phone-call basis with U.S. President Donald Trump, a promoter of the industry.

But Huang was also liaising with a Chinese businessperson who has allegedly fed intelligence — as well as advanced chips — to China. Alice Huang is a former executive at the Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed.

It’s a saga of personal betrayal, corporate espionage and high-tech development, and the fallout is spreading across Washington. There are bipartisan calls for investigations on Capitol Hill. The Department of Justice has opened its own investigation. Nvidia, one of the most valuable companies in the world, is conducting an internal review.

Some expect the technology to reshape human civilization by imbuing computers with the vast powers of creation and analysis, and Trump has repeated that “whoever wins AI, wins.” Nvidia is the backbone of America’s plans for dominating the field.

When asked about Jensen Huang’s affair, Trump said this week that he had spoken to the tech executive as the scandal grew.

“I think he’ll be in good shape,” Trump said, adding that ”he said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy.”

As for when the president first learned about the concerns involving Alice Huang, Trump brushed off the question.

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