Nvidia, CEO Sued by Shareholders Over Alleged Chinese Spy Relationship

By Jill McLaughlin
Jill McLaughlin
Jill McLaughlin
Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.
November 9, 2026Updated: November 9, 2026

A class-action lawsuit was filed against Nvidia and its CEO Jensen Huang on Nov. 9, accusing them of defrauding shareholders by hiding Huang’s alleged ties with a suspected Chinese spy.

Nvidia launched an independent investigation into Huang on Nov. 8 after he admitted earlier in the day to having an affair with the woman.

The lawsuit, filed by Rosen Law Firm, claims Nvidia and Huang’s statements about the suspected spy and the company she worked for, Megaspeed, were false and misleading.

The lawsuit also claims that Nvidia’s statements and Huang’s connection to a suspected Chinese spy have raised concerns in the national security community, which could present a material risk to the company’s reputation and business prospects.

Shareholders claim that when the truth of the relationship became public and entered the market, investors suffered damages.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It is open to investors who purchased securities of Nvidia Corporation between Oct. 9, 2025, and Nov. 8, 2026.

Nvidia and Huang didn’t respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit by publication time.

The FBI is also investigating Huang, President Donald Trump said Nov. 9. Trump was briefed on the intelligence last year.

Nvidia’s board of directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the private investigation into the allegations, according to the company.

The chip manufacturer’s board said it had “no reason to believe” national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.

“The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders,” the company’s board said in a statement.

Huang “fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it,” the board said.

The woman at the center of the affair is business executive Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang. Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a Chinese citizen and former managing director of Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based data center company.

Screengrab of video shows Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Alice Huang at a dinner in Taipei
A screengrab from CTI video footage obtained Nov. 9, 2026, shows a woman identified by Reuters as Alice Huang after comparison with a photograph obtained separately, attending a dinner with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (in black) at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 22, 2025. (CTI via Reuters)
She is suspected by U.S. intelligence of working for China’s Ministry of State Security to collect intelligence on Huang and American artificial intelligence (AI) chips, and was attempting to influence Nvidia to sell its most advanced chips to China, according to a New York Times report published Nov. 6.

The alleged spy was a television reporter in China before taking the helm at the data center company that became one of Nvidia’s biggest customers in Southeast Asia.

The company was poised to buy $2 billion of Nvidia’s AI technology over the next year, the lawsuit claims.

Megaspeed features its use of Nvidia products prominently on its website.

A photo shows NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang with a woman confirmed by a Reuters source to be Alice Huang, in Taipei
A photo shows Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang with a woman confirmed by a Reuters source to be Alice Huang in Taipei, Taiwan, released on June 7, 2024. (Obtained by Reuters/via Reuters)
The Singaporean company posted a statement disputing similar allegations of illegally selling its Nvidia chips to China made by Bloomberg in 2025. Megaspeed said it had undergone multiple on-site inspections and reviews by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Commerce Department, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia, and Nvidia.

“These thorough investigations have confirmed that there has been no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities, and this demonstrates that we are a compliant and legitimate company,” the company stated in December.

Nvidia is the world’s second-most valuable company, sitting just behind Apple, worth about $4.3 trillion to $4.5 trillion.

Financial Markets Wall Street
A screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays news about Nvidia’s stock price in New York on Nov. 9, 2026. (Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo)
Jensen Huang sent a letter to Nvidia employees Nov. 8 admitting to the affair, apologizing for being unfaithful to his wife and letting his coworkers down.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun dismissed accusations claiming Alice Huang was a Chinese spy Nov. 9, saying they were “completely groundless” and a “smear against China,” according to the Global Times, a state-run newspaper.

Nvidia’s stock fell 4.3 percent to close at 178.67 on Nov. 9, as fallout continued from the scandal’s revelation over the weekend.

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