Nvidia shares fell sharply after revelations about Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy

Nvidia shares fell by more than 6% on Monday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after the company announced an internal investigation to determine whether CEO Jensen Huang had been targeted by a foreign espionage operation. The decline sent the stock to its lowest level in months and could have wiped approximately $270 billion off the company’s market capitalization.

The investigation was triggered by reports that Huang had allegedly had a relationship with Alice Huang, a former director of Singapore-based Megaspeed, whom U.S. authorities allegedly concluded was an agent of the Chinese intelligence services. Jensen Huang told employees that he had cheated on his wife, without providing details, but allegations of links to espionage were dismissed by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as unfounded.

The investigation has brought Huang’s position at the helm of Nvidia back into question, as the company stands at the center of the global expansion of artificial intelligence. Analysts nevertheless consider his replacement unlikely and emphasize that Nvidia’s products are difficult to substitute.

Amid the scandal, Madison Huang, the company’s daughter and executive, canceled her visit to Seoul. Nvidia events in South Korea continued, and authorities do not anticipate disruptions to deliveries already under contract. TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix shares returned to growth on Monday.