Nvidia faces a deadline on Wednesday, November 11, to respond to a congressional request for a closed-door briefing on its chief executive’s reported relationship with a woman US intelligence officials suspect of working for Chinese intelligence — or face a subpoena. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast told ABC News on Tuesday that he was prepared to subpoena CEO Jensen Huang unless the executive responded by Wednesday to the request.
Mast and two other Republican committee chairs have asked Huang to appear on November 18 to explain his interactions with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based chip buyer Megaspeed, and to detail Nvidia’s safeguards against foreign espionage, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. No subpoena had been issued as of Tuesday’s report. Nvidia is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on November 17, one day before the requested briefing.
A $400 billion rout in two days
The controversy has wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars in market value. Nvidia shed more than $400 billion in market value over two sessions, according to reports. The shares fell 5.47 percent to close at 168.89 dollars on Tuesday, after a 4.27 percent slide on Monday, and traded as low as 166.95 dollars during Tuesday’s session. The stock is down 18.42 percent for November and roughly 31 percent below its recent peak of 243.37 dollars, erasing all its gains for 2026.
The sell-off accelerated after reports that Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, who is not related to the Nvidia chief, aided at least 7.5 billion dollars in Nvidia chip shipments to China, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One in May about US intelligence indicating Huang was involved with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy. The FBI is separately examining whether the 63-year-old Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.
The board investigates, lawmakers demand answers
Nvidia’s board announced on Sunday that it had opened an independent investigation into whether its chief executive was the target of a foreign intelligence operation, and has retained Joon Kim, a Wachtell Lipton partner and former acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to lead the probe. The board has said it has no reason to believe US national security or company secrets were compromised, and Huang has committed to cooperating with the review. Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair and apologised in a message to employees on Sunday.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer demanded answers from the administration on Tuesday and called for tighter curbs on chip exports to China, while Republican Senator Kevin Cramer openly advocated for Huang’s resignation. Shareholders filed a proposed class-action lawsuit on Monday alleging the company and Huang failed to disclose risks tied to the reported relationship. Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer, has been under US investigation over allegations that it helped Chinese entities obtain advanced AI chips subject to US export restrictions.
Related reading: Nvidia: Congress Summons Jensen Huang in Spy-Claims Probe and Nvidia Shares Fall as Jensen Huang Probe and Spy Claims Grow.
