Nvidia Loses Nearly $450 Billion in Two Days as Board Probes CEO’s Affair With Alleged Chinese Spy

Nvidia’s stock lost nearly $450 billion in market value over two days as investors reacted to chief executive Jensen Huang’s admission of an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence officials say was gathering information for Beijing.

Shares in the chipmaker closed down 5.5 percent on Tuesday at $168.89. The slide followed a 4.3 percent drop on Monday, after Huang admitted to the affair over the weekend. Nvidia’s market value stood at a little over $4 trillion, making it the world’s second-largest company by market value after Apple, which is worth roughly $5 trillion.

Nvidia’s board announced on Sunday that it was starting an independent investigation, led by independent directors and outside counsel. The company cited recent reporting that Huang was “the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” The board said it had “no reason to believe” that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information. Huang remains chief executive and has committed to cooperating with the review.

Huang apologizes; Trump says FBI is looking into it

In an email to Nvidia employees on Sunday, Huang apologized for the affair. “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children,” he wrote, adding that he was “deeply sorry” and that his colleagues also “deserve better” from him. He also wrote: “I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security.”

The New York Times identified the woman as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a Chinese citizen and former executive of Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based data center company. The outlet said U.S. intelligence determined she was gathering information for Beijing. A secret government memo overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio found that Alice Huang was allegedly recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security. China has denied the claims, calling them a smear campaign and saying the spying allegation is unsubstantiated.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI was “looking into it.” He said he had spoken with Huang, who told him he had “absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy.” Trump added: “I think that he’ll be in good shape.” The president has continued to praise Huang, calling him an “honorable guy.”

Chips, Congress and export controls

The Information reported Tuesday that the relationship helped facilitate shipments of at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms, including Alibaba and Tencent and smaller AI labs. Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, had built a network of companies with her husband and sister with the goal of acquiring powerful Nvidia chips despite a ban on exports, the report said.

Huang is facing calls to appear before Congress. The Republican chairs of the House committees on China, foreign affairs and intelligence have asked him to join a joint, closed-door briefing on November 18 to discuss the company’s security protocols. Analysts at Raymond James wrote in a note on Sunday that the allegations could add support in Congress for legislation to further restrict semiconductor and chipmaking equipment sales to China.

Huang has lobbied Washington to loosen limits on sales of Nvidia chips to China in recent years. Trump approved sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, reversing a Biden-era halt on exports over national security concerns. Huang, 63, co-founded Nvidia more than three decades ago and has no clear successor. He has 60 direct reports, and traders fear the company would struggle to replace him.

Reporting based on coverage by the Associated Press and the New York Post.