FBI probing Nvidia CEO Huang over spy claims - Trump

US President Donald Trump said the FBI was looking into Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy for Beijing.

Mr Trump said he "was amazed" by allegations about Mr Huang, who is among the president's closest allies in Silicon Valley.

He said he had spoken to the CEO, who told him that he had no idea that the woman was a spy.

"I know the FBI is looking into it," Mr Trump said.

"I think that he'll be in good shape," he added.

Nvidia shares closed down more than 4% after the company's board launched an internal investigation into whether Mr Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.

The probe, announced on Sunday, has put a spotlight on 63-year-old Mr Huang's future, given Nvidia's status as the world's most valuable chipmaker and the CEO's role as the most prolific salesman of the AI boom.

Mr Huang told Nvidia's employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife, without disclosing details of the relationship.

Mr Huang is Nvidia's fifth-largest shareholder, with a roughly 3.6% stake, according to LSEG data, and keeps a tight grip on the company through an unusually flat structure in which dozens of executives report directly to him.

However, unlike Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms or Elon Musk's SpaceX, Nvidia has no dual-class shares that would give co-founder Mr Huang majority voting control.

The New York Times reported Mr Trump was briefed on Mr Huang's relationship with the woman and that she was giving information to the Chinese government, and that the president chose not to act on the information.

"The so-called Chinese spy narrative is purely a groundless accusation, slander and a smear," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

Mr Huang's relationship with Mr Trump has coincided with several favourable policy developments for the company, and the president has lavished Mr Huang with praise, awarding him the nation's highest honour for scientific achievement in October.

The same day that Mr Trump gave Mr Huang the award, the president disclosed buying up to $1.6 million (€1.4 million) and selling up to $1 million (€894,000) of Nvidia shares during the summer.

'Not an ordinary CEO'

Nvidia said its board has confidence in Mr Huang, who is thought by many on Wall Street to be the most important person underpinning the AI trade.

Analysts acknowledged uncertainty around succession, but most do not expect the investigation to result in the longtime CEO stepping down.

"Nvidia is not an ordinary company and Jensen is not an ordinary CEO; he is Nvidia, clearly sets the long-term strategy and direction, and pulls most of the company's strings himself," said Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Bernstein.

Nvidia shareholders were quick to sue Mr Huang and the company in a proposed class action yesterday, accusing them of defrauding shareholders by concealing Mr Huang's ties with a suspected Chinese spy.

Politicians and advocates told Reuters that Congress was more likely to pass legislation to tighten China's access to AI chips in light of news of Mr Huang's affair.

US House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Congress needs more answers and called for the House to pass an annual defence bill that includes restrictions on chip sales to China.