[Diarypoint reporter Eom Ju-yong] Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation on November 8 in connection with reports of foreign intelligence activity targeting CEO Jensen Huang. Reports say at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips were delivered to Chinese companies, but this is a reported claim, not a transaction value confirmed by the company or authorities.
The board said a committee of independent directors, working with outside independent legal counsel, will oversee the investigation. The formal scope of the probe is to review reports that Huang was a target of foreign intelligence activity.
Separately, a U.S. Commerce Department investigation has been transferred to the Justice Department. The Associated Press, citing sources, reported that the Justice Department's National Security Division is examining whether Singapore-based company Megaspeed violated export control rules. The probe is reportedly also covering Megaspeed and Alice Hwang.
$7.5 Billion and 240,000 Chips: Reported Deal Allegations
Reuters, citing a November 10 report from The Information, said Alice Hwang helped ship at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to China. The report cited about 240,000 units, including H100 and H200 chips and some A100s.
Reuters said it had not been able to independently verify these figures. The $7.5 billion and 240,000 units should therefore be treated as scale cited in reporting, not as findings of an investigation or sales figures acknowledged by Nvidia.
Despite November 11 Rebound, $427 Billion in Market Value Lost Over Two Days
Nvidia shares fell more than 5% on November 10 before rebounding 2.87% in trading on November 11. Reuters reported that the company's market capitalization fell by more than $427 billion over the two trading days after the controversy emerged.
The decline reflected not only uncertainty around the CEO but also concerns about weakness in tech stocks after the U.S. midterm elections and a slowdown in AI investment. According to Reuters, Baird lowered its rating to “neutral,” while Morgan Stanley removed Nvidia from its top-pick list but kept an “overweight” rating.
November 17 Earnings and November 18 Congressional Briefing
Nvidia will hold its fiscal 2027 third-quarter earnings conference call on November 17 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time. Earnings materials are scheduled for release around 1:20 p.m., and the company will provide a webcast on its investor relations website.
House Republican leadership has asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18. Korean investors and the AI industry will be watching how the company explains its China-related revenue and supply channels on the earnings call, then how export-control enforcement develops through the congressional briefing and government investigations.