Nvidia hires former acting U.S. attorney to probe Jensen Huang affair

Nvidia’s board of directors announced Tuesday that it had hired a prominent former prosecutor and a top Wall Street law firm to probe the events surrounding CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a woman believed to be a spy for China.

“The independent members of the NVIDIA Board have retained former acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a thorough and independent investigation as was announced on Sunday,” the company said in a statement.

The announcement followed revelations over the weekend that included Huang’s admission of an extramarital affair. U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and business executive, spied for Beijing, sources told NBC News.

The hiring of Kim and his law firm raises the stakes significantly for Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993. Many of Nvidia’s board members have worked alongside Huang for decades and become wealthier with him.

But Tuesday’s announcement signaled that Nvidia’s board does not intend its probe to serve as a rubber stamp for Huang’s actions.

Wachtell Lipton is one of the nation’s most influential law firms, and its attorneys have track records of taking on…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business