House Republican chairmen ask Nvidia’s Huang to brief Congress on reported ties to a firm in a Chinese spy probe

House Republican committee leaders asked Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang to sit for a briefing on his relationship with a technology executive, over what they called a reported Chinese spy relationship¹. The lawmakers pressed Huang over a tie to a firm caught up in a spy probe, seeking a briefing on his dealings involving Megaspeed². They want him to brief Congress this month about a news report on the matter³.

The request came in a letter to Huang from three chairmen, Mast, Moolenaar and Crawford⁴. They include China committee Chairman John Moolenaar and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford⁴.

Beijing has denied spying on Huang⁷. The allegation that the Nvidia chief was targeted by a suspected Chinese spy has circulated in recent coverage^5,6.

Why it matters to investors

The request lands as Nvidia is already under pressure. Nvidia, Micron and other AI stocks took a dive after the US elections⁵. Huang’s net worth fell by $12 billion on Thursday as Nvidia’s stock dropped 7%⁸, and he fell two spots in the billionaire rankings⁸.

Nvidia’s shares were among the AI stocks that fell after the election, a decline that cut into its chief’s fortune^5,8. China remains a sensitive market for the company. US export controls in place since 2022 have restricted China’s access to advanced Nvidia chips⁹. Nearly 600,000 Nvidia chips are awaiting shipment to China amid import curbs, according to a report⁶, with a stockpile in Hong Kong awaiting Chinese import approval⁹.

Nvidia has also reportedly asked cloud partners to keep Chinese business below 50%¹⁰. The reported policy would address a gap between physical export controls and remote access, since Chinese companies can rent computing capacity in data centers¹⁰.

What to watch

The chairmen asked for the briefing to take place this month, focused on Huang’s dealings involving Megaspeed^2,3.

The congressional scrutiny adds a political dimension to questions about Nvidia’s China business that until now centered on export controls and import approvals^6,9. A Democratic majority in the next Congress presents both an opportunity and a challenge for China, according to analysts⁷.

The lawmakers have framed their request as a briefing about a news report, made by letter from the committee chairmen^3,4.