'Chinese spy scandal concealed, causing massive losses'

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left) dines with Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed suspected of being a Chinese spy, at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, in May last year. [AFP]
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left) dines with Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed suspected of being a Chinese spy, at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, in May last year. [AFP]

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has acknowledged an affair with a woman identified as a Chinese spy, is facing a class-action lawsuit from shareholders.

According to a complaint filed Monday (local time) in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the Rosen Law Firm filed a federal securities lawsuit against Nvidia and Huang on behalf of shareholders including Mark Kistenmaher, seeking damages for violations of federal securities law.

The plaintiffs alleged in the complaint that Huang and Nvidia concealed national security risks related to his affair with Alice Huang — known in Chinese as Huang Le — who is suspected of being an agent of Chinese intelligence, as well as risks tied to Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company where Alice Huang previously worked.

The plaintiffs said Nvidia's share price plunged after the concealed information came to light, causing massive losses for shareholders, and called for compensation for those losses.

Nvidia's share price fell 4.27 percent on Monday alone, closing the regular session at $178.67, compared with Sunday's closing price. Nvidia's market capitalization shed $190 billion that day.

The class-action plaintiffs are investors who acquired Nvidia shares between Oct. 9 last year and Sunday.


cheon@heraldcorp.com