Nvidia's board of directors has opened an independent investigation into reports that founder and chief executive Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, the company announced on Sunday.

The board said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the inquiry. In a short statement published on Nvidia's newsroom, the directors said they had no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised, but added that the inquiry would examine all available information.

"The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders," the statement said. It added that Huang fully supports the review, has committed to cooperating with it, and retains the board's confidence.

The announcement followed reporting by The New York Times and the Financial Times about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that buys Nvidia chips. The two are not related. According to those reports, United States officials had identified Alice Huang as working for Chinese intelligence, and United States intelligence agencies had concluded she had been recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. Those claims have not been independently confirmed, and no charges have been brought against her.

On the same day the board acted, Huang told Nvidia staff in a memo that he had been unfaithful to his wife. He did not name the other person involved. "I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it," he wrote, adding that he supports the investigation and is committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America's national security.

The board gave no timetable for completing its inquiry and said it would provide further updates as appropriate. Nvidia also confirmed that Huang will continue to lead the company as chief executive without interruption while the review runs. A company spokesperson told CNN: "Today's news will not slow NVIDIA. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption."

The episode has already drawn the attention of Congress. On Thursday, the Republican chairmen of three House committees — Foreign Affairs, the Select Committee on China, and Intelligence — wrote to Huang requesting a joint closed-door briefing on 18 November about his interactions with the Megaspeed executive and Nvidia's security protocols against foreign espionage. The letter asked him to accept the date, or offer an alternative, by 11 November.

Nvidia is the world's leading maker of the advanced chips that power artificial intelligence systems, with a market value of about $4.5 trillion. That position has put the company at the centre of Washington's efforts to limit China's access to cutting-edge American technology, and analysts said the investigation would increase scrutiny of Nvidia's chip sales to China. Dan Ives of Wedbush described the news as "a black eye moment" for Huang, warning it would spark multiple congressional inquiries and create an overhang on the stock.

For now, the board's statement settles only the process: an independent review, run by directors with no management role, examining what the reporting got right and whether any company information was exposed. What it finds — and whether it changes anything about how Nvidia does business in Asia — will only become clear when the inquiry reports back.