Nvidia shares tumble over investigation into Huang's affair with alleged Chinese spy

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty ImagesByArchie MitchellBusiness reporter Updated 3 hours agoHundreds of billions of dollars have been wiped off the value of Nvidia after the US chipmaker announced an independent investigation would be carried out into its chief executive's affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

• Publicado em 9 de novembro de 2026, 18:08 GMT.
• What we know so far about Jensen Huang's affair with suspected Chinese spyPublished7 hours ago.

The tech firm saw its shares fall by about 4% by close of trade on Monday after Jensen Huang admitted having an extramarital affair.

A investigação da Nvidia veio depois de relatos de que o US acreditava que o chefe da Nvidia havia sido alvo de uma campanha de espionagem pela China.

However, China has rejected the claims, with its foreign ministry saying allegations about Chinese spies were "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China.

Nvidia said it had no reason to believe the company's secrets or national security were compromised, but a statement by the firm's board of directors said it would begin an investigation in "light of recent reporting that founder and chief executive Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.

US intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was a spy for Beijing, according to a New York Times report, external.

O relatório disse que o Secretário de Estado Marco Rubio enviou um memorando aos principais funcionários em Washington na primavera passada, alertando que o chefe da Nvidia estava em um relacionamento próximo com um espião chinês.

Alice Huang was managing director of Singaporean company Megaspeed, which has had dealings with Nvidia.

Jensen Huang admitted he was "unfaithful" to his wife and apologised for hurting her and their children. He added he was "committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America's national security" and would cooperate with the investigation.

O cofundador da Nvidia também foi solicitado a comparecer a um briefing fechado conjunto para vários comitês do Congresso na próxima semana.

Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the PRC's [China's] access to sensitive US technology and information," congressmen Brian Mast, John Moolenaar, and Rick Crawford wrote in a letter.

It is vital that Congress determines the extent to which US national security has been placed at risk.

Após a investigação da Nvidia ter sido anunciada, outros chefes de grandes empresas de tecnologia, incluindo Elon Musk, se posicionaram em apoio a Jensen Huang para continuar liderando a empresa.

US President Donald Trump said the Nvidia boss was an "honourable guy.

While Nvidia shares fell, the US stock market opened the week on a positive note after last week's turmoil, with Nvidia's rival chipmakers benefiting.

Mas os analistas sugeriram que o impacto na empresa seria de curta duração. Victoria Fernandez, estrategista-chefe de mercado da Crossmark Global Investments, disse que os investidores não abandonarão a Nvidia, pois o fabricante de chips é tão importante para a indústria de IA.

Nvidia is the core of this AI trade, and without them, all these other pieces start to fall apart because the financing's not there," she told the BBC.

Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia, which is central to making the hardware for emerging AI technologies, with two other engineers in 1993.

Os chips foram inicialmente projetados para jogos, mas ele decidiu mudar seu foco para o desenvolvimento de IA, transformando-a na segunda empresa mais valiosa do mundo.

Huang's position vulnerable unlike other tech bosses.

Uma preocupação principal para os investidores no futuro é o que aconteceria com a Nvidia se Jensen Huang fosse removido da empresa, pois Fernandez disse que não havia "nenhum sucessor natural" para o diretor executivo.

Jensen Huang, unlike other founders in the tech industry, is vulnerable to any move by Nvidia's board of directors to oust him.

He owns only around 3. 5% of the company, and Nvidia operates on a single class voting structure, meaning his stake would not be enough to act as a veto power over any board decision.

By contrast, many tech founders who lead their companies, including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, hold significant percentages of multiple types of stock in their companies.

Fernandez said she does not believe the board will remove Jensen Huang as chief executive, unless there is glaring evidence of wrongdoing related to national security or intellectual property, "but I bet they start bringing someone up as his number two, to have there for the future.

The modest fall in its shares mean investors believe it is unlikely he will step down or be removed as chief executive, but that the outcome of the investigation will be closely watched.

Mesmo pessoas que não possuem ações diretamente na Nvidia podem ser afetadas por aumentos e quedas em seu valor. Fundos de pensão ou economias investidas em fundos que têm participação na empresa por meio de fundos de rastreamento de índices podem ser impactados, por exemplo.

Nvidia chips have been a major focus of the AI race between the US and China and the White House has previously imposed controls on where its advanced products can be sold.

The H200, Nvidia's second most advanced semiconductor, had previously been restricted by Washington over concerns that it would give China's technology industry an edge over the US.

But Jensen Huang has been against restricting the sale of Nvidia's chips to China, arguing that it would be better for the global rollout of AI to be powered by US technology.

Em janeiro, a administração Trump disse que permitiria que a empresa vendesse seus chips H200 para clientes chineses sob certas condições.

Repórter adicional por Samira Hussain, correspondente de negócios da América do Norte.