AI news, 9 November: Nvidia board probes CEO over alleged Chinese spy ties

Nvidia board investigates Jensen Huang. Nvidia’s board launched an independent investigation on 8 November after reports that CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. According to the New York Times and company statements, Huang had a close personal relationship—later described by him as an affair—with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive whom US officials believe was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security. In a staff memo Huang admitted being unfaithful to his wife, apologised, and pledged full cooperation. The board said it has no reason to believe Nvidia secrets or US national security were compromised but will review all available information with outside counsel. President Trump called Huang an “honorable guy.” Congressional committees have sought a briefing. The episode highlights the intense geopolitical scrutiny on the leading maker of AI chips.

Anthropic secures $3.4 billion in generators. The Financial Times reported that Anthropic agreed in late September (publicly detailed on 8 November) to a roughly $3.4 billion deal taking over orders for 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty gas-fired Caterpillar generators from Texas supplier OnePWR Solutions, plus related engineering capacity. Neither company has publicly confirmed the transaction. The move, described as one of the largest known power-equipment purchases by an AI lab, underscores how electricity constraints are forcing companies to lock in their own generation rather than wait for grid connections.

Apple accelerates agentic Siri plans. Bloomberg and The Verge reported that Apple CEO John Ternus is pressing software leaders to speed up Siri’s development into a more capable agent that can handle multi-step tasks and control apps, aiming to compete with systems from OpenAI and Meta. Finer first-party app control could appear in near-term iOS updates, with broader third-party actions eyed for 2027. These remain plans and expectations, not a released product.

Trump open to AI guardrails. President Trump said he does not mind AI safeguards and suggested he could work with Democrats on them, while warning that rules must not leave the United States trailing China, according to Reuters reporting on 9 November.

Music rights holders sue Suno. Rights holders linked to Elvis Presley and Eminem’s publisher filed separate lawsuits against AI music firm Suno, alleging copyright infringement and unauthorised voice cloning, including claims under Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, according to The Verge and Variety. Suno has said it helps people create original music and does not trade on others’ names or likenesses.