Nvidia — CEO Admits Affair With Suspected Chinese Spy; Nasdaq Futures Slip 1%, Taiwan Jumps 4.9%
The weekend brought a story no model of the AI trade had in it. In a memo to staff on Sunday, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang wrote that he had been unfaithful to his wife. The New York Times had reported on 29 October that US intelligence officials concluded the woman, an executive at a Singapore-based Nvidia customer, worked as a Chinese spy. Nvidia's board has set up a committee of independent directors with outside counsel to investigate, and says it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised. Huang stays in charge.
Nvidia traded 4.9% below Friday's close before Monday's open after its chief executive admitted an affair with a woman US officials suspect of spying for China and the board opened a review. The companies that make, assemble and equip its products rose: TSMC 4.7% and Hon Hai 6.5% in Taipei, ASML 2.4% in Amsterdam. AMD traded 3.3% higher and the chip ETF 0.2%. The market is pricing the person, not demand for the chips. The test is whether the supply chain starts falling with Nvidia.