Nvidia's board opens an investigation into Jensen Huang

Nvidia's board is now investigating its own founder.

Last week this was a letter from Congress. As of Sunday it is a governance question at the company whose chips much of the AI industry trains and runs on.

On Nov. 8, Nvidia's board said it is starting an independent investigation after reports that CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. A committee of independent directors will oversee it, supported by outside counsel.

The board says nothing leaked, and it is checking anyway

The board says it has no reason to believe US national security or Nvidia's secrets were compromised, and that its inquiry will review all available information. It says Huang supports the review and has agreed to cooperate. It also says it has confidence in him and his leadership team.

The same day, Huang sent employees a message admitting an affair, TechCrunch reports. He did not name the woman. Nvidia published the message.

"I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry," Huang wrote, per TechCrunch.

The reports center on Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based chip company Megaspeed. TechCrunch says a memo that circulated among US policymakers earlier this year claimed China's Ministry of State Security recruited her to spy on him. Before the board acted, Nvidia had called the pair's interactions "not unusual" and said it does not share classified information with customers.

Congress already set the clock

On Nov. 5, three House chairmen, Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford, asked Huang for a joint closed-door briefing on his dealings with Alice Huang and on Nvidia's protections against foreign espionage. TopFive covered that letter on Saturday.

They proposed Nov. 18 for the briefing and asked for an answer by Nov. 11.

"It is vital that Congress determines the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk," their letter says.

Your risk moved into the boardroom

Nothing in your stack changes this week. No product, price or shipment has moved, and the board says no secrets were lost.

What changed is where the risk sits.

A founder CEO is under review by his own directors and has been asked to brief three House committees about a woman a memo circulated among US policymakers reportedly ties to Beijing. Every Washington decision that touches Nvidia, from China sales to the next round of chip rules, now gets made with that in the room.

If your plans assume Nvidia wins its arguments in Washington, discount that assumption. If you hold the stock, chip stocks already led last week's rout. This adds a risk no earnings call can answer.

What to watch

Nov. 11 is the deadline to answer the House chairs. Nov. 18 is the briefing they proposed. The board has not said who sits on its committee or when it will report.

Two dates and a name. Wait for all three.