Nvidia is on course to shed around $270billion in market value after its shares plunged amid claims CEO Jensen Huang had an affair with a Chinese spy.
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Huang → shed → spy
An internal probe by the company followed a media report that Huang had a close relationship with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang who allegedly passed information to Beijing.
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who → follow → Beijing
Huang told Nvidia's employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife, without disclosing details of the relationship.
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he → tell → relationship
The investigation, announced on Sunday, has put a spotlight on Huang's future given Nvidia's status as the world's most valuable chipmaker and the CEO's role as the most prolific salesman of the AI boom.
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investigation → announce → boom
The leather-jacketed Huang enjoys rock-star status worldwide, particularly in Asia, where he often mingles freely with fans, taking selfies and signing autographs for his devoted followers.
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he → jacket → followers
The fallout from the probe extended to South Korea, where Madison Huang, Huang's daughter and an Nvidia executive, cancelled a planned visit to Seoul for an Nvidia conference that was set to begin on Monday, according to companies she had been scheduled to meet.
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she → extend → companies
Nvidia's shares tumbled more than 6 per cent in Frankfurt trading, extending last week's selloff and pushing the stock to fresh multi-month lows.
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shares → tumble → lows
At those levels, the chipmaker stood to lose about $270billion from its closing price on Friday, according to a Reuters report citing LSEG Datastream.
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chipmaker → stand → Datastream
Pictures posted to LinkedIn by the company NetThunder showed the Nvidia boss and Ms Huang together in a bar in Taipei in June 2024
'The market's probably telling you now this does no favors to the stock whatsoever in a time when there's a lot of conjecture as to the build-out of data centers,' said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne.
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Weston → post → Melbourne
But Mr Weston said he did not think Huang, whom he described as the 'godfather of AI', would be replaced.
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he → say → AI
'If we genuinely thought he was going to step down... the stock would be down - it would be an absolute bloodbath, to be honest,' he said.
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he → think → ?
The New York Times reported last month that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, an unrelated former executive of Singapore-based company Megaspeed, who US authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset.
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authorities → report → who
'The so-called Chinese spy narrative is purely a groundless accusation, slander, and a smear,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
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Jiakun → call → Beijing
Megaspeed did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Monday, a public holiday in Singapore.
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Megaspeed → respond → Singapore
Alice Huang did not respond to the New York Times last month when it first reported her relationship with Huang.
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it → respond → Huang
The pair were photographed together at a bar in Taipei in June 2024, where Huang was seen wearing his trademark black leather jacket and enjoying whiskey with other technology executives.
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Huang → photograph → executives
Alice Huang sat beside him during the gathering, which followed a technology trade show.
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which → sit → show
Photographs were subsequently shared on LinkedIn by technology company NetThunder.
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Photographs → share → NetThunder
They were reportedly seen together again in May 2025, leaving a restaurant in Taipei after a dinner attended by artificial intelligence suppliers.
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They → see → suppliers
Shares in Nvidia's key Asian chip suppliers TSMC, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rebounded on Monday after last week's selloff of AI-related stocks.
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Shares → rebound → stocks
TSMC shares jumped 6.5 per cent, while those in Samsung and SK Hynix climbed 2.9 per cent and 4.7 per cent, respectively.
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those → jump → Samsung
Some prominent figures weighed in on Huang's admission.
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figures → weigh → admission
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said on X that the Nvidia CEO was an 'incredible human', but if 'indeed this is more than an affair, then it is obviously a real problem'.
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it → say → affair
'I am hoping for a simple affair, not a risk to our national security,' he added.
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he → hop → security
Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented, 'I agree,' on a post by Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire that said Huang 'did something incredibly dumb' that was 'bad for America' but that 'Jensen is irreplaceable for America's AI leadership'.
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Jensen → comment → leadership
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had not spoken to Huang about the allegations, but called him a fine person.
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he → say → him
'I hope everything's fine.
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everything → hope → ?
He's done such an incredible job,' he added.
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he → do → job
When asked if he believed he should have acted on intelligence when he was briefed about it, Mr Trump said: 'No, I don't think so.
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I → ask → it
I think he's an honorable guy.
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he → think → ?
I think he probably has an excuse for it.
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he → think → it
You have to hear it.'
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You → have → it
The New York Times reported that Mr Trump was briefed about the intelligence findings roughly a year ago and chose not to do anything with the information.
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Trump → report → information
The reported intelligence findings have now sparked demands for answers on Capitol Hill.
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findings → report → Hill
Republican congressmen Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford, who chair three powerful House committees, have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18.
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who → chair → November
Jensen Huang and his wife Lori Huang are pictured at an award ceremony in April 2026
Jensen Huang attends a state dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump for Chinese President Xi Jinping
The New York Times reported that Trump was briefed about the intelligence findings roughly a year ago and chose not to do anything with the information (Pictured: Trump and Huang)
The lawmakers want to question him about his interactions with Alice Huang and the measures Nvidia has implemented to protect itself against foreign espionage.
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Nvidia → picture → espionage
Madison Huang had initially planned to visit South Korean AI startup Rebellions and hold a question-and-answer session with Kakao Mobility.
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Huang → plan → Mobility
Rebellions said the events were cancelled due to 'unavoidable internal circumstances at Nvidia'.
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events → say → Nvidia
Nvidia did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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Nvidia → respond → comment
Analysts said a prolonged investigation or internal review could potentially delay Nvidia's investment decisions or product launches, with broader implications for the semiconductor industry.
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investigation → say → industry
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
