- Trump is publicly vouching for Huang. President Donald Trump said he spoke with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Monday and that Huang denied knowing the woman he admitted having an extramarital affair with “was a spy” for China, adding, “I really believe him.”
- Legal risk is now formal. The comments came as Los Angeles-based Rosen Law Firm filed a class-action shareholder lawsuit against Nvidia and Huang in federal court in San Jose, California, alleging false or misleading statements about the affair and Nvidia’s relationship with Megaspeed, which it says posed a material risk to the company’s reputation and business.
- The intelligence trail goes back months. The New York Times reported on Oct. 29 that U.S. officials had concluded Megaspeed International executive Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset, and that Trump was briefed on the findings about a year ago and “chose not to do anything with the information.”
- Washington is still looking. Trump said “I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else,” and that he does not plan to raise the matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping at next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, though “I’m sure President Xi will ask me about it.”
What Happened?
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he called Huang “just to see if he’s feeling all right” and asked him directly, “Did you have any idea that she was a spy?” Trump said he was “amazed” by the allegations, which led Nvidia’s board to open an independent investigation, and suggested he had only recently learned of them. On Friday, the Times reported that a memo circulated last spring among top administration policymakers cited intelligence that Alice Huang was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to collect intelligence on the Nvidia CEO and potentially push the company to make its most advanced chips available to China. Trump called Huang “a very honorable guy” and said “he’ll be in good shape.”
Why It Matters?
For Nvidia shareholders, the president’s backing lowers the odds of a political push to oust Huang, but it does not end the governance overhang. The class action adds a legal track to the board probe, and the Times’ reporting that Alice Huang was eyed “for possibly steering advanced Nvidia A.I. chips to China” puts export controls back at the center of the story. The Times also noted Trump has been reluctant to disrupt Nvidia chip sales, which are boosting the U.S. stock market, a reminder that Nvidia’s political protection depends partly on its role in the AI trade.
What’s Next?
Investors will watch the progress of Nvidia’s independent board investigation, the Rosen lawsuit and any FBI activity. The Trump-Xi meeting at the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week could bring the chip-export issue into focus even if Trump does not raise Huang directly. Any new disclosures about Megaspeed’s access to Nvidia chips would be the biggest risk for the stock.
Affected Tickers and Coins: NVDA
Source: CNBC
