Nvidia board backs Jensen Huang as shares slide on alleged China intelligence link

Key points

• Nvidia shares dropped as much as 8% on 9 November, briefly threatening about $350bn in market value.
• Congressional Republicans want a private briefing on Nvidia's security procedures, seeking Huang's agreement to a date by 11 November, according to Axios.

The board has opened an independent investigation and said it has no reason to believe company secrets or US national security were compromised, expressing confidence in Huang's leadership.

Huang told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife, apologised and pledged to cooperate. China's Foreign Ministry has rejected the claims as baseless, and President Donald Trump has defended Huang.

The controversy lands on a stock already under pressure. Nvidia's market capitalisation fell from roughly $5.78tn on 6 October to $4.51tn on 6 November, according to YCharts, before the board publicly announced its investigation. The shares traded near $179.34 on 9 November, below their 50-week exponential moving average of about $199.16, a breach that began before the scandal.

Huang, 63, co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has built a centralised management structure with no obvious successor. Chris Weston of Pepperstone told Reuters he did not expect a resignation, but said a genuine belief that Huang was leaving could produce an "absolute bloodbath". Nvidia reports quarterly earnings on 17 November, and the board has not said when its investigation will conclude.

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