Jensen Huang apologized to staff in a Sunday email and held a brief executive meeting where he refused questions and pivoted immediately back to ordinary operations. Nvidia's board responded by hiring the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz on Tuesday to lead a formal probe into the matter. The controversy arrives as employees grapple with shock over their idolized co-founder, while Huang's past geopolitical engagements, including recent events with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, draw intensified scrutiny. Nvidia has not responded to requests for comment regarding the affair or the inquiry.
Key points
Leadership's attempt to quickly redirect focus toward upcoming quarterly earnings comes a…: Leadership's attempt to quickly redirect focus toward upcoming quarterly earnings comes amid an official board-level investigation.
Employee morale has deteriorated significantly, with staff expressing deep sadness and sh…: Employee morale has deteriorated significantly, with staff expressing deep sadness and shock regarding the actions of their long-idolized co-founder.
The scandal threatens Huang's credibility as a prominent international advocate for conti…: The scandal threatens Huang's credibility as a prominent international advocate for continuing artificial intelligence chip sales to China.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang walked into the chipmaker's Santa Clara, California, headquarters on Monday and conducted his regular morning meeting with top-level executives, people familiar with the meeting told CNBC.
On Sunday, Huang had disclosed an extramarital affair to employees.
Huang kicked off the closed-door gathering by addressing his infidelity and sharing how sorry he was to his staff, according to the people, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly. They said Huang didn't take any questions and quickly pivoted to business and top agenda items of the day.
The CEO was also in the office on Tuesday, conducting meetings just one week ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
People inside the artificial intelligence chip giant said Huang tried to project "business as usual," even as the probe moved forward into his affair with an alleged Chinese spy. The CEO was in a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive, according to The Financial Times.
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