Nvidia board hires Wachtell Lipton to investigate CEO Jensen Huang; FBI reportedly running a separate probe

Nvidia's board announced on Tuesday, 10 November, that it had hired a former federal prosecutor and his law firm to investigate events surrounding chief executive Jensen Huang's relationship with a woman US officials believe was working for Chinese intelligence, according to NBC News and ABP Live. This piece is as of the morning of 11 November. The woman is a private individual who has not been charged, and we do not name her; some outlets we read do.

The board's investigation

The company said the independent members of its board had retained Joon Kim, a former acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for "a thorough and independent investigation", per NBC News. ABP Live says the board approved the inquiry on Sunday, saying there was no reason to believe Nvidia's confidential information or US national security had been compromised, and that a committee of independent directors will oversee it. The FBI is conducting a separate investigation, the same report says. NBC News reports that Trump said on Monday the FBI was also probing the matter.

Huang remained in post as of Tuesday, and a company spokesperson said over the weekend he was focused on leading Nvidia "without interruption", according to NBC News. CBS News reports that in a message to employees on Sunday Huang acknowledged an extramarital relationship and apologised. ABP Live says senior members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have asked for a closed-door briefing with Huang next week, and that the committee can issue a subpoena. It says his attendance has not been confirmed.

What Trump was told, and what he said

A New York Times report, carried by The Philadelphia Inquirer and covered by WION, says, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that Trump was told aboard Air Force One in May, on his way to China, that the US had intelligence showing Huang was in a relationship with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy. It says Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio delivered the message shortly before Huang joined the trip, and that it was at least the second time in seven months Trump had been told. NBC News attributes the account to The New York Times and says it has not confirmed it.

On Monday, asked whether he knew before the China summit, Trump said "No, I didn't hear about it then", per The Philadelphia Inquirer. NBC News reports he also said he would have to check and that it "didn't make much of an impact" on him. ABP Live says Trump told reporters Huang had told him he had "no idea she was a spy", and that he believed Huang's explanation. The Inquirer reports Trump said Huang will not accompany him on a trip to China planned for next week (The Philadelphia Inquirer). One person familiar with the matter said a memo on Huang that Rubio oversaw in the weeks before the May trip was not shown to Trump aboard Air Force One, the same report says. It adds that the White House press office declined to comment on the record, and that an emailed statement on background pointed to Trump's remarks on Monday and disputed the reporting without elaborating.

The share-price fall

CBS News says Nvidia's shares lost 10% of their value, about $450 billion, over the last two trading days. NBC News says shares fell more than 10% since Monday's open, erasing almost $500 billion from a $4 trillion company, and are down 31% from their record high on 6 October. ABP Live gives about $500 billion lost since Friday. The figures differ in period and rounding; we have not reconciled them.

Other parties

ABP Live reports that China's Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations, accusing those making them of trying to smear the country, and that Nvidia says an earlier investigation into diversion concerns about Singapore-based Megaspeed, where the woman had worked, found them unfounded. Nvidia has also said the US government never told it Megaspeed posed an intelligence threat, the same report says.