Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Probe: China Spy Claims Hit Shares

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Under Investigation as China Spy Allegations Send Shares Tumbling

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing an internal board investigation following allegations that he may have been targeted by a Chinese intelligence operation, putting the leadership of the world's most valuable chipmaker under increased scrutiny. The controversy triggered a sharp market reaction on November 9, 2026, with Nvidia shares falling more than 6% in Frankfurt trading.

The investigation follows a report by The New York Times last month alleging that Huang had developed a close personal relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and former executive at Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed. US authorities reportedly investigated Alice Huang and concluded that she was a Chinese intelligence asset suspected of passing information to Beijing. Reuters said it could not independently verify the allegations or establish her current employment status at Megaspeed.

Huang addressed Nvidia employees on Sunday, acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife, Lori Huang, and accepting full responsibility for his actions. He did not provide details about the relationship. Nvidia, meanwhile, said its board had no reason to believe that US national security or company secrets had been compromised. However, it appointed an independent committee of directors, supported by external legal counsel, to examine all available information.

The 63-year-old executive co-founded Nvidia in 1993 with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem and has led the company since its establishment. Born in Taiwan and raised in the United States, Huang transformed Nvidia from a video-game graphics processor manufacturer into a dominant supplier of advanced chips powering artificial intelligence, cloud computing and autonomous technologies.

Nvidia's importance has grown significantly since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, which accelerated global demand for AI computing infrastructure. The company's market valuation increased from approximately $420 billion at the end of 2022 to $4.5 trillion on November 6, 2026. Huang's leadership and public profile have also made him one of the most recognisable figures in the global technology industry.

The allegations have brought additional attention to Megaspeed, a Singapore-based cloud computing company that works with Nvidia. US authorities have been investigating suspicions that the company helped China obtain access to advanced Nvidia processors despite American export restrictions. Megaspeed's website identifies it as an Nvidia Cloud Partner in the Asia-Pacific region and lists Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 and HGX H100 systems among its offerings.

Megaspeed did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Monday, a public holiday in Singapore. Alice Huang also did not respond to the New York Times when it initially reported the alleged relationship. Reuters said it could not establish her location to seek further comment.

The investigation carries broader implications because Nvidia sits at the centre of the technological competition between Washington and Beijing. The United States has restricted exports of advanced AI chips to China since 2022 over national security concerns. Senior Republican members of the US House of Representatives have already requested briefings from Huang following the allegations, seeking information about potential security risks.

Nvidia said an independent committee would oversee the investigation with assistance from outside legal advisers. Huang has expressed full support for the review and committed to cooperating. The company has not announced any findings indicating that confidential information was transferred or that national security was compromised.

The uncertainty surrounding the investigation weighed heavily on Nvidia shares on Monday. The stock dropped more than 6% in Frankfurt trading, extending losses from the previous week and reaching fresh multi-month lows. According to LSEG Datastream, the decline threatened to wipe approximately $270 billion from Nvidia's market value based on its Friday closing price.

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone in Melbourne, said the controversy was creating additional pressure on the stock at a time when investors were already questioning the sustainability of the massive spending on AI data centres. However, he did not expect Huang to leave his position, describing him as an exceptionally important figure in the artificial intelligence industry.

The situation has also attracted reactions from influential business leaders. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, described Huang as an incredible person but warned that the situation would become a serious concern if the allegations involved more than a personal affair. He said he hoped the matter would not develop into a national security issue.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also weighed in, agreeing with a social media post by Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire. The post criticised Huang's reported conduct while describing him as an irreplaceable figure in maintaining America's leadership in artificial intelligence.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had not discussed the allegations with Huang but described the Nvidia chief as an honourable person and praised his achievements. Trump said he hoped everything would be fine and that Huang should have an opportunity to explain himself. The New York Times previously reported that Trump had been briefed about intelligence findings concerning the matter approximately a year earlier but chose not to take action at the time.

The controversy has also affected Nvidia's activities in South Korea. Huang's daughter, Madison Huang, cancelled a planned visit to Seoul, where she had been scheduled to meet representatives of local technology companies ahead of an Nvidia conference. South Korean AI startup Rebellions said the planned engagements were cancelled because of unavoidable internal circumstances at Nvidia. A separate question-and-answer session with Kakao Mobility was also called off.

Despite the cancellations, Nvidia AI Day Seoul, a two-day event expected to attract approximately 2,000 participants, was scheduled to proceed as planned. The conference was set to cover physical AI, agentic artificial intelligence and computing infrastructure.

Meanwhile, major Asian semiconductor suppliers recovered on Monday after the previous week's selloff in AI-related stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shares climbed 6.5%, while Samsung Electronics gained 2.9% and SK Hynix advanced 4.7%.

Analysts warned that a prolonged investigation could delay Nvidia's investment decisions, product launches and other business activities, potentially creating wider uncertainty across the semiconductor sector. Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices could attract greater investor attention in the short term. Samsung could also benefit from its close business relationship with AMD.

Nevertheless, analysts believe Nvidia's products would be difficult to replace, limiting the immediate impact on the broader industry. Further delays in shipments to China remain possible, depending on how the investigation and related regulatory issues develop.

South Korea's deputy science minister said on Monday that the government did not expect the controversy to disrupt contracted deliveries of Nvidia graphics processing units to the country.

Nvidia's board investigation remains ongoing, with the independent committee tasked with determining whether the reported contacts created risks for the company or US national security. Its findings could have significant consequences for Huang's leadership, investor confidence and the global artificial intelligence industry.

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