Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang face lawsuit over handling of ties to alleged Chinese spy

Nvidia, a leading tech company in the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, has enlisted the services of one of the largest law firms in the United States to investigate allegations of a Chinese spy affair involving its CEO, Jensen Huang. Huang, who co-founded Nvidia, has admitted to having a romantic relationship outside of his marriage.

The woman in question, Alice Huang, is suspected of being a spy for Beijing. The tech giant announced on Tuesday that it had hired New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, with its attorney Joon Kim leading a "thorough and independent investigation". The FBI is also conducting its own probe into the matter. Nvidia's share price has plummeted, losing almost $500 billion in market value since Friday, with the company's stock at its lowest point in a year.

Nvidia is recognized as a critical player in the AI industry, being the sole manufacturer of a computer chip used in AI tools. The company holds the second position in the global market, trailing only Apple. US officials are concerned about Nvidia's chips, as they are deemed a matter of national security, with a focus on the company's pursuit of AI supremacy.

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le and not related to Jensen Huang, was once an executive at Singaporean firm Megaspeed. Megaspeed has been suspected of potentially diverting Nvidia chips to China, an issue Nvidia claims to have investigated and dismissed. Nvidia maintains that the US government did not inform them of the intelligence concern regarding Megaspeed.