With the extramarital affair exposed, the political pressure on Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang may further increase. (Reuters)
[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] The political pressure on Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is likely to increase further. With the Democratic Party's victory in the U.S. midterm elections and the impending dominance of Congress, party insiders have stated that they will strengthen supervision of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and have asked Huang to explain China's access to Nvidia's advanced chips and the company's lobbying for favorable legislation. Now that it has been revealed that Huang Jen-Hsun was involved in an extramarital affair and that the person was accused of being a Chinese spy, Huida may become the focus of congressional investigations.
The New York Times recently reported that U.S. intelligence officials believe that Alice Huang, who is romantically involved with Jen-Hsun Huang, is a spy for the Chinese Ministry of State Security. She is also related to Huida customer Megaspeed, which has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies obtain Huida AI chips. Huang admitted to employees on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife and said the board was investigating related national security concerns.
"CNBC" reported that as early as before the midterm elections, leaders with clear positions in the Democratic Party had asked Huang Renxun to explain how China obtained Huida's advanced chips and how Huida lobbied for favorable legislation. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed out a few days before the election: "We must pass bipartisan legislation to ensure that our advanced AI technology does not fall into the hands of China." In June before this, Huang had declined Warren's invitation and did not attend the Senate Banking Committee hearing to testify.
Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that this is a major issue that deserves great attention, and said that White House officials will hold a confidential briefing later on Monday in which Huang's extramarital affair is expected to be discussed; Jeffries is expected to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the new Congress.
Chris Coons, who is expected to serve as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on the social platform X: "Congress will investigate and get answers."
Sam Bresnick, a researcher at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, pointed out that the focus of the Democratic Party's possible investigation includes whether the Trump administration had already known about Huang's relationship with the suspected Chinese spy woman, and whether Huang had influenced U.S. policy. He emphasized that clarifying the Trump administration's knowledge of the relevant situation will be an important direction for the Democratic Party's investigation. "They (the Democratic Party) will try to clarify the extent to which the Trump administration knew what happened at that time."
It's a sharp about-face for Huang, who has developed a close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and worked closely with the Trump administration to try to limit AI regulation. In the past, Huang Renxun has advocated expanding chip exports to China, believing that allowing China's AI laboratories to use American technology is better than encouraging China to develop domestic alternatives. Now that the Democratic Party is about to take control of Congress, it is bound to strengthen its supervision of Huida chip exports, AI industry development and corporate lobbying activities.
The pressure isn't coming only from Democrats, though. House Republican leaders have also asked Huang to hold a closed briefing on Chinese espionage later this month. Trump publicly supported Huang, calling him a "respectable person" who has made outstanding contributions to the United States.
The change in Huang Renxun's political situation has also made investors pay attention to Huida's future development. Huida's stock price plunged 12% in two trading days after the U.S. midterm elections. The market is worried that regulatory measures at the federal and state government levels may slow down the construction of AI data centers and industry expansion. The report believes that Wall Street and Washington will inevitably scrutinize Huida more strictly, and Huang Renxun's influence will almost certainly change as a result.
