Who is Joon H. Kim? Meet the former US Attorney leading the Nvidia-Jensen Huang investigation

A major US law firm has been appointed to investigate allegations surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and a suspected Chinese intelligence operation, according to a report by The Guardian. The investigation will be led by Joon H. Kim, a former acting US attorney who has held several high-profile positions in the US legal system. The probe was ordered to find out whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation and examine allegations surrounding his relationship with Alice Huang, which reportedly facilitated at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to China.

Over the weekend, Huang acknowledged having an extramarital affair and said media reports about the relationship and potential national security concerns had prompted Nvidia's board to launch an investigation. Neither Huang nor Nvidia publicly identified the person involved. However, The New York Times identified her as Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and business executive. The newspaper reported that US intelligence agencies had determined she was gathering information for Beijing.

US President Donald Trump earlier said the FBI was also investigating the affair, although he has continued to express support for Huang. Meanwhile, Nvidia and its CEO are facing a lawsuit alleging that the company misled investors by failing to fully disclose the relationship.

Who is Joon H. Kim?

Joon H. Kim has an extensive legal career spanning private practice and government service, according to The Guardian. Between 2017 and 2018, Kim served as Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In that position, he led a team of lawyers handling investigations into securities and commodities fraud, mail and wire fraud, public and private corruption, money laundering, cybercrime and tax offences.

His tenure included overseeing the case against former US representative Anthony Weiner, who was sentenced to 21 months in prison for sending obscene material to a minor. Kim also supervised the prosecution of Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who was convicted in 2017 of helping Iran evade US sanctions. In 2021, Kim was assigned another high-profile investigation involving allegations of sexual harassment by then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Kim recently joined Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the New York-based law firm hired by Nvidia to conduct the investigation.

Earlier he was working with a rival law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. At Cleary Gottlieb, his practice focused on white-collar criminal defence, internal investigations, regulatory enforcement and commercial litigation.

He also led an investigation into workplace culture at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) following allegations of harassment and discrimination at the agency.

Chinese university bought Nvidia's H200 AI chips despite US blacklist

Meanwhile, Reuters today claimed that a Chinese university had access to advanced Nvidia processors despite US export restrictions. According to procurement records reviewed by Reuters, Northwestern Polytechnical University purchased two of Nvidia's powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips last month for 874,700 yuan, or approximately $123,000.

The university is part of China's 'Seven Sons of National Defense', a group of institutions known for conducting defence-related research. It is also subject to US sanctions.

The university reportedly purchased the chips for its management school through Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology rather than directly from Nvidia.

The H200 is among Nvidia's most powerful processors for training and running advanced AI systems. Its export to China requires US government approval, with licences generally denied for blacklisted institutions such as Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Reuters also reported that the university had purchased access to H200 chips and other advanced Nvidia processors through five contracts with Chinese companies for rented computing capacity this year.