President Donald Trump has defended Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after the technology executive admitted he had been unfaithful to his wife.
Trump said that Huang should remain at the helm of the world’s leading AI chipmaker despite the controversy.
The comments came hours after Nvidia announced an independent board investigation into whether Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort following reports about his relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. When asked whether Huang should continue as Nvidia’s chief executive, Trump replied, “I think so. Oh yeah, sure. In a message to Nvidia employees, Huang acknowledged that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologised to his family, colleagues, partners and shareholders.
Speaking to reporters before returning to Washington on Sunday, Trump called Huang “a fine person” and said he had not discussed the matter with him. Trump also said he had not heard Huang had done “anything wrong” and indicated he would still consider taking him on a planned Asia trip later this month. US authorities have alleged she was linked to Chinese intelligence, although Nvidia said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
The board stressed that it currently has no reason to believe US national security or Nvidia’s trade secrets were compromised.
However, it said the investigation would review all available information.
