Nvidia scandal raises export risks for South Korean chipmakers

Detailed summary

Nvidia scandal raises export risks for South Korean chipmakers as US scrutiny of AI chip shipments to China intensifies. Read more at straitstimes.com.

In an email to employees on Nov 8, Jensen Huang acknowledged an extramarital relationship.

SEOUL – South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix could face tighter export compliance requirements if US authorities step up scrutiny of Nvidia’s AI chip shipments to China, following reports that CEO Jensen Huang had a personal relationship with a woman suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence.

The controversy has raised questions about Nvidia’s safeguards against potential espionage and the diversion of restricted AI chips to China. Any additional US export controls could affect South Korean suppliers of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a critical component of Nvidia’s AI accelerators.

No new restrictions have yet been announced in connection with the case.

The controversy centres on Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman and former executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed, which US authorities began investigating in 2024 over suspicions that it diverted restricted Nvidia chips to China.

The New York Times reported that US investigators suspected Alice Huang had been recruited by Chinese intelligence. That suspicion has not been established as fact, and Nvidia previously characterised the contacts as routine business dealings.

In an email to employees on Nov 8, Jensen Huang acknowledged an extramarital relationship.

“I was unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote, apologising to his family and pledging to cooperate with an internal investigation.

Nvidia’s independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will examine whether Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.

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