Nvidia shares tumble as Jensen Huang admits affair with suspected Chinese spy

Nvidia shares tumbled on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday (local time) after CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair with a businesswoman suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence.

As of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time that day, Nvidia shares were trading at $175.12, down 6.17 percent from the previous session. At one point during the session, the stock fell as low as $170.24, a decline of 8.79 percent.

The sell-off came after Huang admitted to the affair in an internal memo over the weekend and apologized to employees, prompting Nvidia's board to launch a probe into the allegations — a development that weighed on the stock as investors grew uneasy about management uncertainty.

The woman at the center of the affair is Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based data center company. She has been under surveillance by US intelligence authorities on suspicion of approaching Huang to gather classified information on advanced AI chips and monitor developments within the Trump administration.

Nvidia's board said Monday it had "launched an independent investigation in connection with recent reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence service."

Huang also issued a separate statement. "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions have hurt my wife and children, and there is no excuse for what I did," he said. "I apologize to my family and to all of our employees."

The board said it had no reason to believe US national security or company secrets had been compromised, and expressed continued confidence in Huang.

Investors, however, have raised concerns that the outcome of the investigation could cloud Huang's future at the company and leave Nvidia facing a leadership vacuum.

Huang has led Nvidia for more than 30 years, guiding it to become the world's largest AI chipmaker.

With no clear successor in place, analysts say the prospect of his departure could introduce significant uncertainty about the company's management stability.

Dan Ives, senior managing director at Yorkville Ives, said "there is clearly a risk that Jensen Huang could step down as CEO depending on the outcome of the board investigation," adding that given his central role in Nvidia's global operations and strategy, "this will be an additional risk factor for the share price."

Analysts also warn the fallout could extend well beyond Nvidia and reverberate across the broader AI ecosystem. The company has not only dominated AI chip supply but has also supported investment and fundraising for AI firms including OpenAI and CoreWeave, giving it wide influence across the industry.

If uncertainty over Huang's leadership persists, delays in Nvidia's investment decisions and product launches could ripple out to affect those partner companies as well.

Mohamed El-Erian, former CEO of Pimco, said Nvidia is "a systemically important company for the technology industry, financial markets and the broader economy," and said it was difficult to gauge the impact that questions surrounding its top leadership and corporate governance could have on the company's value.

The episode has also drawn attention to what it could mean for Nvidia's semiconductor business with China.

Huang has maintained a close relationship with President Donald Trump and has been a vocal advocate for easing restrictions on advanced chip exports to China. But now that allegations have surfaced that he was a target of Chinese intelligence operations, observers say US authorities may tighten scrutiny over Nvidia's chip sales to China.