Nvidia's board of directors has launched an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang after he admitted in an email to staff that he had an affair with a businesswoman U.S. officials suspect of funneling information to Chinese intelligence, the company confirmed Sunday.

In the message to employees, Huang acknowledged he had been unfaithful to his wife, writing that there was no excuse for it and that he had fallen short of his responsibilities to his family, his employees and the company he has run since founding it in 1993.

A board on the record

Nvidia's board said it is forming a special committee of independent directors, working with outside counsel, to review the matter "in light of recent reporting" that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. In its own statement, the board said it has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia's trade secrets were compromised, and voiced continued confidence in Huang and his leadership team, according to memos CNBC obtained and published in full.

The woman at the center of the allegations has been identified in prior reporting as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a Chinese national formerly tied to the Singapore-based data center operator Megaspeed. The New York Times reported in late October that U.S. officials suspected she had been recruited to seek chip-related information and push for continued Nvidia access in China, and that President Trump had been briefed on the intelligence but took no action.

Nvidia has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing on the company's end, saying an earlier internal review found no evidence its graphics processors were illegally diverted to China through Megaspeed. A company spokesperson said Sunday that Huang remains committed to leading Nvidia "without interruption."

Three Republican House committee chairs — Reps. Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford — sent Huang a letter on Nov. 4 requesting a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18, the day after Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings, covering both his personal dealings with Alice Huang and the company's safeguards against foreign espionage. They asked for a response by Nov. 11. China's foreign ministry has dismissed the spying allegations as "groundless speculation," and Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said it has not investigated Huang personally, though it confirmed a separate, ongoing probe into Megaspeed itself.

"I HAVE BEEN UNFAITHFUL TO MY WIFE. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THIS, AND I AM COMMITTED TO EARNING BACK YOUR TRUST."

What's next: investors and employees alike are watching whether the board's committee finds anything that complicates Huang's leadership heading into Nvidia's Nov. 17 earnings report — and whether he appears before Congress as requested on Nov. 18, one day after Wall Street gets its next look at the company's books.