diff --git a/modelopt/torch/utils/memory_monitor.py b/modelopt/torch/utils/memory_monitor.py
index 2b7558537..94ed1cab8 100644
--- a/modelopt/torch/utils/memory_monitor.py
+++ b/modelopt/torch/utils/memory_monitor.py
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ def stop(self):
         nvmlShutdown()
 
 
-def launch_memory_monitor(monitor_interval: float = 1.0) -> GPUMemoryMonitor:
+def launch_memory_monitor(monitor_interval: float = 1.0) -> GPUMemoryMonitor | None:
     """Launch a GPU memory monitor in a separate thread.
 
     Args:
@@ -140,6 +140,11 @@ def launch_memory_monitor(monitor_interval: float = 1.0) -> GPUMemoryMonitor:
     Returns:
         GPUMemoryMonitor: The monitor instance that was launched
     """
+    try:
+        nvmlDeviceGetMemoryInfo(nvmlDeviceGetHandleByIndex(0))
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"Failed to get GPU memory info: {e}. Stopping GPU memory monitor.")
+        return None
     monitor = GPUMemoryMonitor(monitor_interval)
     monitor.start()
     atexit.register(monitor.stop)  # Ensure the monitor stops when the program exits