The key facts

  • Senator Chris Coons called for an investigation into the situation surrounding Jensen Huang and Nvidia
  • Nvidia's board created a committee of independent directors with outside lawyers involved
  • Nvidia shares fell 6.4% to $174.70; China called the allegations unfounded

Investigation and market reaction

US Senator Chris Coons on Monday called for an investigation following reports about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with a woman suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence.

What is known about the allegations

According to The New York Times and Financial Times, the woman in question is Alisa Huang, a top executive at cloud company MegaSpeed, who, citing US officials, the outlets report is suspected of passing information to Beijing. On Sunday, Nvidia announced that a committee of independent directors, supported by outside lawyers, would conduct the investigation; according to the company, Huang himself backed the investigation and pledged to cooperate. Against this backdrop, Nvidia shares fell 6.4% to $174.70 on Monday.

China's position

China on Monday rejected the allegations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called them unfounded speculation and slander. At this point, only media reports and statements by politicians have been made public: the results of Nvidia's investigation and any possible conclusions by US authorities remain unknown.