Trump says FBI has launched probe into Jensen Huang's alleged affair

US President Donald Trump reveals an FBI investigation is ongoing to look into Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's alleged ties to a foreign intelligence effort.

On Monday, a Reuters report indicates Nvidia shareholders have filed a class-action lawsuit against the chipmaker and Huang over disclosures of the issue after a slump in stock prices.

This as the foreign ministry in Beijing pushes back against the purported Chinese spy narrative, saying it's purely a groundless accusation, slander and a smear.

US President Donald Trump told reporters the FBI was "looking into" Huang's extra-marital affair after he admitted to having intimate relationship with Chinese business executive Alice Huang.

Stunning allegations of an espionage plot that the information the Nvidia chief provided to the woman may have been communicated directly to Beijing prompted Nvidia to launch an internal security investigation.

The California-based tech giant pledged to examine all available information though its board said it had "no reason to believe" that either national security or company secrets were compromised.

Trump said at a White House briefing he had a phone call with Jensen Huang who denied knowing the paramour was a "spy." The president went on to say he believed Huang was suffering greatly but he would be in good shape.

"I would say that when I heard about it, first of all, I was amazed because I view him as a very high quality person. I've known him a long time."

"I read his statement, and I believe he's suffering greatly. More so because of his family, his wife, who he loves, and his family," Trump said. "I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he'll be in good shape."

The unprecendented affair scandal has put a decade-old fight over AI hardware into the limelight.

The high-end computing chips that Nvidia produces are the backbone of the exponential surge of generative AI over the past three years, and Huang has been trying to unlock stalled efforts to sell the products in the Chinese market despite intensive US export controls.

Trump's ties with Huang, one of his closest allies in Silicon Valley, came under renewed scrutiny following a sweeping blue wave in the midterms.

The 63-year-old CEO was earlier pressed to attend a joint closed-door meeting with House committees on the chipmaker's security protocols.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons posted on X that they "need answers about the relationship between AI billionaires and the Trump administration, who's making these decisions, and who's really got their hand on the wheel."

Pundits argue the emergency of Huang's infidelity not only tarnished the success story of the leather-jacketed "rockstar" but also left the whole AI industry reeling.

Harvard business school professor David Yoffie said, "Obviously Nvidia is central to the whole AI revolution. The United States has put export controls over Nvidia processors going to China. Jensen has been essential, not only for the underlying technology that he provides, but they have also become the banker for the AI world. And Jensen, has no successor."

Yoffie added, "It's going to have huge impact on shareholders, which is why the stock has been down so much. It's already lost a trillion dollars in value in the last couple of weeks."

Huang is currently the fifth-largest shareholder of Nvidia with a stake of 3.6% which enables him to keep a tight grip on the company.