Nvidia lost over $200 billion in market value Monday as shareholder lawsuits formed and Donald Trump confirmed federal inquiries into Jensen Huang.
Nvidia shares fell roughly 4% on Monday, erasing more than $200 billion in market value, as investor law firms prepared class-action lawsuits and President Donald Trump confirmed that the FBI is examining chief executive Jensen Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese operative.
The decline left Nvidia as the biggest loser on the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 on an otherwise rising day for Wall Street, NBC News reported. Several legal firms quickly announced investigations into whether the semiconductor maker issued misleading statements about executive relationships, according to TechCrunch.
The sudden market drop followed the company’s disclosure over the weekend that independent directors would investigate CEO Jensen Huang over his ties to a Singapore tech executive. In an open message to staff and shareholders, Huang admitted to infidelity and apologized to his family and colleagues, while the board said it had no reason to believe company secrets or American national security had been compromised.
Trump confirms federal review and defends Huang
Speaking at a White House briefing on Monday, Trump said federal law enforcement is examining aspects of the matter, the Associated Press reported. Trump told reporters that he called Huang earlier in the day to check on his well-being, and Huang told him he had no idea the woman was a foreign agent.
Trump offered personal backing to the Nvidia co-founder, describing him as honorable and voicing doubt that he would face serious trouble. “I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he’ll be in good shape,” Trump said at the briefing.
Chinese officials rejected the espionage claims on Monday. Speaking at a regular ministry press conference in Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed the accusations. “The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China,” Guo said.
Lawsuits mount over company disclosures
Shareholder-rights law firms including Schall, Brown & Schwartz and Rosen Law Firm announced investigations Monday into whether Nvidia misled investors, with Rosen stating it is preparing a class-action filing. Legal specialists noted that when reports about Huang’s relationship with former Megaspeed chief executive Alice Huang first surfaced last month, Nvidia described the contact to media outlets as ordinary customer meetings.
Because Huang is the chief executive, his knowledge of the relationship can legally be attributed to the company itself under securities law. Megaspeed, a Singapore data center company that prominently advertises its partnership with Nvidia, purchased billions of dollars of Nvidia hardware in November 2025. Megaspeed has denied that the hardware was used illegitimately.
Export limits and geopolitical fallout
The controversy touches the intense competition between Washington and Beijing over artificial intelligence technology, BBC News reported. The United States has enforced export controls to prevent China from securing cutting-edge processors that power advanced AI systems, where Nvidia’s latest data center systems start at $50,000 per unit.
Huang has frequently lobbied the White House to relax those restrictions, securing permission from Trump earlier this year to export Nvidia’s H200 chips after previously designing lower-performing H20 processors to satisfy trade rules.
What happens next
International diplomacy will soon put leaders in close proximity. Trump is scheduled to travel to Shenzhen next week to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Trump indicated on Monday that he was unlikely to bring up the Huang matter with Xi, though he noted that the Chinese leader might raise it.
At Nvidia, an independent committee of the board and outside legal counsel will continue examining Huang’s conduct, including potential breaches of company rules that prohibit relationships with clients. Huang, who owns about 3.5% of Nvidia stock, said he intends to cooperate fully with the probe and plans to remain chief executive.
