Nvidia hires Wachtell to investigate alleged spy affair
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Capital FM
Nvidia has tasked Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, one of the largest US law firms, with an independent investigation into the relationship between its CEO Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, who is suspected of spying for Beijing. The investigation, led by lawyer Joon Kim, runs alongside the FBI probe, according to the firm, as the company has lost $500 billion in market capitalisation since Friday.
Nvidia has mandated New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct an internal investigation into the relationship between its chief executive Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, a woman presented as an alleged spy for Beijing. Lawyer Joon Kim will lead an investigation described by Nvidia as independent, the company said on Tuesday, according to Capital FM.
The FBI is conducting its own investigation in parallel. Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le and not related to Jensen Huang, was an executive at Singaporean company Megaspeed, a Nvidia customer. Megaspeed had been suspected of helping divert Nvidia chips to China, but Nvidia says this lead was investigated and dismissed and that the US government had not informed it of an intelligence-related risk.
The affair is also weighing on Nvidia, whose market capitalisation has fallen by nearly $500 billion since Friday, with its share price approaching a yearly low, Capital FM reports. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of chips used for artificial intelligence applications and its business has become a national security issue for US authorities engaged in technological competition with China.
The announcement of the internal investigation comes after Nvidia opened an investigation into an operation targeting Jensen Huang on 8 November and the FBI investigation into the Nvidia boss’s relationship announced on 9 November.
