Nvidia Board Probes Huang as China Chip Sales Near $8 Billion

Nvidia's board began an independent investigation of chief Jensen Huang on Nov. 8, 2026, as China-linked customers supplied about $7.9 billion, or 8%, of the company's prior-quarter revenue. Independent directors oversee the review with outside counsel.

The probe follows reports linking Huang to a woman whom U.S. officials believe served as a Chinese intelligence asset. The investigation and Huang's China policy campaign are separate events, but together they show how much of Nvidia's business runs through Beijing.

What did Huang say about China?

On Nov. 5, 2025, Huang told the Financial Times at its Future of AI Summit that "China is going to win the AI race." He cited Western "cynicism," lower Chinese energy costs and lighter regulation, and criticized new U.S. state AI rules, Fox Business reported.

Reuters reported that Huang later posted on X that China was only "nanoseconds" behind, and that America must race ahead and win developers worldwide. Together, the remarks made a case for changing U.S. policy.

How much revenue does China supply?

Customers headquartered in China, including Hong Kong, made up about 8% of Nvidia's prior-quarter revenue, or roughly $7.9 billion, Motley Fool reported. Most of that came from products export restrictions do not cover, and Beijing has limited purchases.

Nvidia booked a $400 million charge on excess advanced-chip inventory. ByteDance and Tencent reportedly received roughly 10,000 units each over the summer, and each China-bound chip faces U.S. inspection plus a 25% tariff. Nvidia's most recent full-year China revenue was $19.67 billion, Yahoo Finance reported.

Fiscal Q2 2027 revenue reached $96.22 billion, up 105.8% from a year earlier. Nvidia guided fiscal Q3 revenue to $108.0 billion, excluding China data center computing revenue.

CFO Colette Kress said: "Given ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, there is no China data center compute revenue in our forward outlook."

How did Huang press Washington on chip exports?

• May 2025: Huang called U.S. export controls a failure that pushed Chinese customers toward local alternatives. He said China's AI-chip market could reach $50 billion within two to three years, Yahoo Finance reported.
• Dec. 8, 2025: Trump said Commerce would let Nvidia ship advanced chips to approved Chinese customers, with the U.S. taking a 25% cut, TechCrunch reported.
• February to April 2026: The U.S. granted an export license. In April, Huang said Nvidia's China market share had fallen to zero.
• May 2026: Sales to about 10 Chinese companies were reportedly approved during Trump's Beijing trip, Yahoo Finance reported. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Huang made the trip to lobby, Benzinga reported.
• October 2026: Huang told Bloomberg that "we made a mistake," apparently referring to U.S. limits on chip sales to China. He also called China a competitor and said it is no enemy.

What does the board investigation cover?

CBS News reported that the board has no reason to believe company secrets or national security were compromised. Newsweek reported that Huang admitted in a staff message that he had been unfaithful, apologized and said he supports the review.

The rest remains allegation. Newsweek, citing the New York Times, reported that U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Alice Huang, no relation to Jensen Huang, was an alleged Chinese intelligence asset. She is a former Chinese TV reporter who later became a senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company and major Nvidia customer.

China calls the claims "groundless speculation." U.S. authorities suspect Megaspeed of helping China reach export-controlled chips, which Megaspeed denies. The SF Standard reported that Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over two years. Three Republican House committee chairs requested a closed-door briefing from Huang on Nov. 18.

How did markets react?

CNBC reported that Trump said Huang should stay on as CEO, and that the two spoke Monday. Newsweek, citing the Times, reported that U.S. intelligence briefed Trump on its findings in 2025 and that he chose not to act.

Nvidia closed Monday at $178.67, down 4.27% from $186.64, after reaching $170.24 intraday, Motley Fool reported. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF rose 2.37%, and the Invesco QQQ Trust gained 3.54%.

Shares have fallen 22.07% over the past month during a broader AI selloff. Newsweek linked the Nov. 5 drop to election concerns about data center construction. Market value stands near $4.31 trillion, at a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.

What could the probe change?

Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives told CBS that it could bring congressional inquiries and that Huang's removal is a risk, depending on what the board finds. Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge said it could raise the likelihood of tighter U.S. chip export rules.

What does this change for Nvidia's China revenue?

The near-term revenue effect looks limited. Nvidia's $108.0 billion Q3 outlook already excludes China data center compute, and China supplied $7.9 billion in the prior quarter.

The larger exposures concern leadership and policy. A finding against Huang would cost Nvidia its chief advocate for chip sales in China, and tighter export rules would constrain a market Huang said could reach $50 billion within two to three years.

Nvidia's next earnings report is expected Nov. 17, though the company has not confirmed the date. The requested Nov. 18 briefing follows. Any change to export rules would directly affect the China revenue Huang spent a year lobbying for.