Alice Huang allegedly built a network of companies across China and Singapore to acquire restricted Nvidia processors, with around 240,000 chips reportedly finding their way into China. The revelations have raised fresh questions about US export controls and Nvidia’s business exposure to Beijing.
BY PC Bureau
November 11: Nvidia is facing a potential $470 billion wipeout in market value over two trading sessions as revelations about CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged affair with a Chinese businesswoman suspected of spying for Beijing fuel investor concerns over the chipmaker’s governance and exposure to China.
The company’s shares extended their losses on Tuesday (November 10), falling more than 6 per cent after a 4.3 per cent decline in the previous session. The slide put Nvidia on course to lose more than $470 billion in market capitalisation over two days, as the controversy surrounding Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang drew increasing scrutiny.
The relationship allegedly helped facilitate shipments of at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to Chinese companies, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with Alice Huang. She is not related to the Nvidia chief executive.
Nvidia’s board launched an internal investigation on Sunday. On Tuesday, its independent directors said they had appointed former acting US Attorney Joon Kim and law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead the inquiry.
The FBI is separately examining whether the 63-year-old Huang was targeted in a foreign intelligence operation.
Huang has told employees that he was unfaithful to his wife but has not disclosed details of the relationship.
Two days wiped out $470 billion in market value, and everyone is saying Nvidia is finished.
But nobody is telling you these numbers:
Last quarter revenue: $96.2 billion, up 106% year over year.
Data center revenue: $89 billion, up 117% year over year.
Gross margin: 75%.
The stock is falling, but the business is growing at an explosive pace.Is the November 17 earnings report an exit point for fearful investors, or an entry point for another group of buyers?
— Gregory Ramirez (@mlkbfrey) November 11, 2026
Trump says Jehnsen had no knowledge of alleged spy links
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had spoken with Huang and asked whether the Nvidia chief knew that the woman was allegedly a Chinese spy.
According to Trump, Huang told him he had “absolutely no idea” about the alleged intelligence links. Trump said he believed the Nvidia CEO.
The US president also said he had been unaware of the alleged connections when Huang accompanied him on his visit to China in May.
However, The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio had briefed Trump about US intelligence suggesting that Huang was involved with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy.
The briefing took place aboard Air Force One while Trump was travelling to China, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
It was at least the second time in seven months that Trump had been informed about the intelligence, according to the report.
The conflicting accounts have added another dimension to the controversy, raising questions about what US officials knew about the alleged relationship and when they became aware of it.
Nvidia shares fall as Microsoft briefly overtakes it
Nvidia’s latest decline allowed Microsoft to briefly overtake the chipmaker as the world’s second-most valuable company for the first time since June 2025.
The sell-off has added to investor concerns about the potential implications of the allegations for Nvidia’s corporate governance, export-control compliance and dependence on Huang’s leadership.
It has also coincided with broader questions about whether the enormous investments being made in artificial intelligence infrastructure will generate sufficient returns.
Bank of America analysts cautioned against assuming that the allegations would necessarily translate into damage to Nvidia’s business.
“The investment debate is whether this remains company-specific or triggers restrictions and disruption across AI infrastructure,” the analysts wrote in a note. “We would not equate allegations with proven business damage.”
READ: Where Is Alice Huang? Chinese Woman Linked to Nvidia CEO Remains Untraceable
How Alice Huang allegedly built a network to acquire Nvidia chips
According to The Information, Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, built a network of companies across China and Singapore with her husband and sister to acquire Nvidia processors.
At the centre of the network was Shanghai Century Litong, a China-based company that secured preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia in 2023, giving it priority access to the chipmaker’s products, the report said.
When orders for Nvidia processors subject to US export restrictions stalled, Alice Huang allegedly used her connections with Nvidia and its distributors to secure supplies.
The operation helped move approximately 240,000 H100, H200 and some A100 chips into China, according to the report.
Century Litong rented computing capacity and operated data centres equipped with Nvidia processors, including some that were prohibited from being sold to China under US export controls.
Some of the computing capacity was ultimately used by Chinese technology companies Alibaba and Tencent, as well as smaller artificial intelligence laboratories, The Information reported.
Alice Huang also held an executive position at Singapore-registered Megaspeed, which was linked to Century Litong.
US authorities have investigated Megaspeed over suspected shipments of Nvidia chips from Southeast Asia to China, according to the report.
The Information further reported that Alice Huang used her relationship with Jensen Huang to strengthen her credibility in business dealings, while keeping her precise role unclear and avoiding a paper trail.
US delays move to blacklist Megaspeed
Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department has delayed efforts to place Megaspeed on a government blacklist, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the deliberations.
The department chairs the government panel responsible for overseeing the so-called Entity List, which identifies companies and organisations considered to pose national security risks or involved in activities contrary to US foreign policy interests.
The panel had sought additional information about some companies being considered for inclusion, the FT reported.
It was unclear whether Megaspeed was among the entities under review. However, the delay has meant that the company has not been added to the list, according to the report.
The US Commerce Department and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Alibaba, Tencent, Megaspeed and Shanghai Century Litong were also not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the reports.
