Nvidia Shares Company Loses $430 Billion in Market Value Amid Spy Allegations

Nvidia has lost approximately $430 billion in market value over two trading sessions following reports raising questions about chief executive Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman alleged to have links to Beijing’s intelligence network.

The controversy intensified on Tuesday after reports claimed the relationship helped facilitate at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to China. Other reports said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed President Donald Trump about the matter.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called on the administration to explain its handling of the allegations. He also urged Congress to tighten restrictions on US semiconductor exports to China.

Meanwhile, Nvidia’s independent directors have hired outside legal counsel to investigate the claims. The controversy has raised questions about corporate governance and the company’s reliance on Huang, who has led Nvidia for more than three decades.

Huang owns approximately 3.6 per cent of Nvidia but does not hold majority voting control. He also oversees an unusually flat management structure, with dozens of senior executives reporting directly to him.

The FBI is separately examining whether a foreign intelligence operation targeted the 63-year-old executive. Huang has reportedly told employees that he was unfaithful to his wife but has not disclosed details about the relationship.

China’s foreign ministry has rejected the espionage allegations, describing them as “groundless”.

CNBC reported that Huang apologised to senior executives during a closed-door meeting on Monday before turning the discussion towards business. He returned to meetings at Nvidia’s headquarters on Tuesday.

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Nvidia said its board had no reason to believe that US national security interests or company secrets had been compromised. The company added that Huang had agreed to cooperate with the internal investigation.

The board appointed Joon Kim, a partner at law firm Wachtell Lipton and a former acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, to lead the probe. His legal practice includes internal investigations and white-collar defence.

Nvidia shares have fallen 9.5 per cent since reports about the controversy emerged. The stock had been almost unchanged for the year before the allegations surfaced.

Investors have also expressed concerns about whether the enormous spending on artificial intelligence will generate sufficient returns. These concerns have weighed on Nvidia shares compared with the broader US stock market.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Rubio briefed Trump about US intelligence concerning Huang during a flight to China in May. The report said it was at least the second time in seven months that Trump had received information about the alleged connection.

Trump said on Monday that he had spoken with Huang and asked whether the executive knew the woman was allegedly a spy. According to Trump, Huang said he had “absolutely no idea”. Trump also said he believed the Nvidia chief executive.

The US president added that he had not known about the alleged connection when Huang accompanied him on the May trip to China.

A White House official disputed the New York Times report and referred Reuters to Trump’s earlier comments.

Schumer said Congress needed a full explanation of Trump’s defence of Huang. He also called for lawmakers to approve tighter restrictions on American chip exports to China.

“He’s supposed to protect America, not China, not his friends,” Schumer said, accusing Trump of failing to address foreign espionage concerns in the US technology industry.

Separately, Axios reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had received a highly classified memo warning about Huang’s alleged relationship with Alice Huang. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report.

The Commerce Department and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, reportedly built a network of companies across China and Singapore with her husband and sister to obtain Nvidia chips, according to The Information.

The publication reported that she used connections within Nvidia to secure supplies when orders for chips subject to US export restrictions stalled. The reported shipments included around 240,000 H100, H200 and some A100 chips.

According to the report, some of those chips ultimately reached major Chinese technology companies, including Alibaba and Tencent, as well as smaller artificial intelligence laboratories.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the reports or establish Alice Huang’s whereabouts to seek comment.

Alice Huang previously held senior positions at a Shanghai investment firm before becoming the controlling shareholder of Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed International.

Megaspeed was linked to China-based Century Litong, which secured preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia in 2023. The arrangement reportedly gave the company priority access to Nvidia chips.

The Financial Times separately reported that several US government agencies had pushed to place Megaspeed on the Commerce Department’s entity list, a trade blacklist for organisations considered national security risks because of their links to China.

However, the department was reportedly delaying efforts to blacklist the company while seeking further information about businesses under consideration. The report did not establish whether Megaspeed was among those companies.

The US Commerce Department and Nvidia did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Alibaba, Tencent, Megaspeed and Century Litong were also unavailable for comment outside regular business hours.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the reports concerning the alleged relationship, chip shipments or government briefings.