Donald Trump has said the FBI is investigating the affair between the boss of Nvidia and an alleged Chinese spy.
The US President said he spoke with chief executive Jensen Huang on Monday following reports that the US believed he had been targeted in a Chinese espionage campaign.
“I asked him that question, ‘Did you have any idea she was a spy?’ He said ‘I had no idea she was a spy’ and I really believe him,” Trump told reporters.
Beijing has rejected claims that Huang was targeted, with its foreign ministry saying the allegations were “entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China”.
Nvidia, who has commissioned an independent investigation into the affair involving Alice Huang, alleged to be a Chinese spy, said it had no reason to believe the company’s secrets or national security were compromised.
The revelations knocked about $250bn (£190bn) off the value of Nvidia during trading on Monday as the firm’s share price fell by about 4%.
Trump later told reporters at the White House that the FBI was now looking into the issue, but did not elaborate on the probe or when it was launched. The FBI declined to comment when contacted the BBC.
US intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was a spy for Beijing, according to a New York Times report.
The report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a memo to top officials in Washington last spring warning that the Nvidia boss was in a close relationship with a Chinese spy.
Alice Huang was managing director of Singaporean company Megaspeed, which has had dealings with Nvidia, the company at the centre at the development of AI worldwide through its microchips.
Trump’s remarks are the first indication of whether Huang knew about the woman’s alleged ties to Chinese espionage.
The American firm run, co-founded by Huang, is also a major focus in the AI rivalry between the US and China, with Washington officials treating the company’s exports to Beijing as a matter of national security.
