Singtel, which has a partnership with Nvidia, said it was monitoring developments following the resignation of “AI godfather” Jensen Huang as chief executive of the artificial intelligence chip leader. However, Singtel said the matter was not expected to affect their partnership or AI chip deliveries.
Singtel’s partnership with Nvidia includes jointly developing AI data centre infrastructure, establishing a centre of excellence for applied artificial intelligence (AI), and introducing Nvidia’s next-generation chips to expand its AI computing services.
Speaking at a results briefing on Friday (13 November), Singtel group chief executive Yuen Kuan Moon said there had been a stream of news about Nvidia over the past 24 to 48 hours, and that various parties, including Singtel, were still monitoring the latest developments.
Yuen said the group had received most of the chips it had ordered and expected the remaining chips to be delivered on time. Even if deliveries were delayed, the group could source chips from other suppliers.
He added that businesses using Nvidia chips accounted for only a small share of the group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
Yuen said: “Nvidia is still operating normally. We will stay in touch with them to keep abreast of developments, including whether any controls or restrictions will be imposed.”
Huang, 63, admitted to an extramarital affair last Sunday (8 November), saying: “My actions have hurt my wife and children. I have no excuse, and I am deeply sorry.”
The affair was with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-registered cloud computing services company Megaspeed. The UK’s Financial Times (《金融时报》) had also reported that US intelligence agencies suspected she had been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to conduct espionage.
The board subsequently announced an independent investigation to establish whether Jensen Huang had been a target of foreign intelligence agencies, and whether US national security and company secrets had been compromised.
The controversy intensified on Wednesday (11 November), when The New York Times (《纽约时报》), citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Jensen Huang had also had an extramarital affair with another Nvidia executive, Kimberly Powell.
Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia’s chief executive and a board member, among other roles, on 12 November. Chief financial officer Colette Kress took over as interim chief executive.
