Nvidia NVDA.O is on track to shed more than $470 billion in market value as concerns mount over the fallout from CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy for Beijing.
The CEO’s relationship with Alice Huang helped facilitate shipments of at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms, The Information reported this week, citing two people who know her. Alice Huang and Jensen Huang are not related.
Nvidia’s board launched an internal investigation on Sunday, and its independent directors on Tuesday said they had retained former acting US Attorney Joon Kim and law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead the company’s investigation.
The FBI is separately examining whether the 63-year-old Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.
Huang has told employees he was unfaithful to his wife but provided no details about the relationship.
President Donald Trump said on Monday he had spoken with Huang and asked whether he knew the woman was allegedly a Chinese spy. President Trump said Huang told him he had “absolutely no idea” and that he believed the Nvidia CEO.
President Trump also said he had not known about the alleged ties when Huang accompanied him to China in May.
However, the New York Times reported on Tuesday that Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio had briefed Trump aboard Air Force One en route to China about US intelligence indicating Huang was involved with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy.
The briefing marked at least the second time in seven months that Trump had been told about the intelligence, the NYT reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The allegations have intensified scrutiny of Nvidia’s governance, export-control compliance and reliance on Huang’s leadership, adding to investor unease over whether massive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure will deliver adequate returns.
Nvidia’s shares fell more than 6 percent following a 4.3 percent drop on Monday, allowing Microsoft MSFT.O to briefly overtake the AI bellwether as the world’s second-most valuable company for the first time since June 2025.
“The investment debate is whether this remains company-specific or triggers restrictions and disruption across AI infrastructure,” Bank of America analysts wrote in a note. “We would not equate allegations with proven business damage.”
Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, along with her husband and sister, built a network of companies across China and Singapore to acquire Nvidia chips, The Information reported.
At the centre of the network was Shanghai Century Litong, a China-based company that secured preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia in 2023, giving it priority access to the company’s chips, the report said.
Century Litong rented computing capacity and operated data centers using Nvidia chips, including some barred from sale to China. Some of the chips ultimately served Alibaba 9988.HK, Tencent 0700.HK and smaller Chinese AI labs, The Information reported.
Alice Huang also held an executive position at Singapore-registered Megaspeed, which was linked to Century Litong and has been investigated by US authorities over Nvidia chip shipments from Southeast Asia to China, the report said.
The Information also reported that Alice Huang leveraged her relationship with Jensen Huang to bolster her credibility while keeping her role vague and avoiding a paper trail.
Alibaba, Tencent, Megaspeed and Shanghai Century Litong were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours. Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Anhata Rooprai, Steve Holland, Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters
