US President Donald Trump said Monday that the FBI is investigating Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese government agent, but said he doesn't think the executive who has helped to develop artificial intelligence has a reason to worry.
"I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he'll be in good shape," Trump said at a White House briefing.
The sudden emergence of Huang's infidelity has rocked the political class and America's tech sector, creating new concerns about whether China has been able to access the cutting-edge chips designed by Nvidia that are powering the development of artificial intelligence.
Trump suggested the extraordinary step of directly involving himself in a counterintelligence investigation, a sign of his friendly relationship with Huang and the possible geopolitical stakes.
"I did speak to him today just to see if he's feeling all right, how you're doing," Trump said. "He said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy." Huang -- a singular figure in the technology landscape and one of the world's wealthiest people -- has acknowledged he had an affair, issuing an apology to his wife and to the company in an open letter posted on Nvidia's website. The New York Times reported that US intelligence determined that the woman was gathering information for Beijing.