Nvidia’s board has opened an investigation after chief executive and founder Jensen Huang admitted an extramarital affair with a Singapore-based executive whom US intelligence suspects of working for China. The inquiry will examine whether Huang was targeted by a foreign espionage operation and whether the relationship compromised the company’s information security.

An internal memorandum circulated by US intelligence officials identified the woman as Alice Huang, a senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singaporean computing infrastructure company and Nvidia customer. US intelligence assessments allege that China’s Ministry of State Security recruited her to gain access to advanced American technologies. That allegation remains distinct from Jensen Huang’s admission of the relationship.

Addressing employees, Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife, said his actions had hurt her and their children, and accepted that there was no excuse for his conduct.

The potential security implications extend beyond his personal conduct. Megaspeed is already under investigation in the United States on suspicion of smuggling advanced Nvidia chips into China in breach of American export restrictions. That investigation concerns suspected wrongdoing, not an established finding that the company evaded the controls.

Nvidia’s position at the centre of US–China competition over trade and technology gives both inquiries particular significance. The chairmen of three major House of Representatives committees, including those concerned with China and intelligence, have recently demanded that Huang attend a closed briefing to explain the relationship and the company’s information-security procedures.

With regular New York stock-market trading closed for the weekend, weekend futures moved from gains of about 0.2% into negative territory. Betting platforms also registered an increase in the implied likelihood of Huang’s removal as chief executive. Those movements reflect expectations, not a board decision about his future.

The central unresolved issue is whether the admitted relationship enabled access to protected information. Establishing that would require more than the admission of an affair: it is the security question the board’s investigation must address.