Nvidia's market capitalization fell by nearly $500 billion in a week

Jensen Huang's immediate resignation from Nvidia's leadership resulted in a drop of up to 12% in the company's shares at the opening of the American market on Thursday. This event also generated instability in the technology sector and pressured major Wall Street indices.

Around 10 am New York time, securities continued to decline, losing more than 6% after a partial recovery. The founder's departure occurs during a crucial period for the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, especially considering the expected IPO of Anthropic in the following week.

In the absence of a formal succession plan, Nvidia appointed its long-time chief financial officer to assume provisional leadership. This change followed a series of reports about Huang's personal life, which involved a relationship with a subordinate executive and an affair with Alice Huang, described as a supposed Chinese spy.

The executive himself confirmed on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife. This admission came after the Financial Times published an article on Saturday about an alleged extramarital affair. A source cited by NBC News suggested that the woman involved could be a Chinese spy, although this allegation has not been confirmed as fact.

The repercussion of these news coincided with a sharp devaluation of Nvidia's shares. The company registered a loss of approximately US$ 830 billion (equivalent to about R$ 4.61 trillion) in market value, falling below US$ 4 trillion (R$ 22.2 trillion), a level not seen since 2025.

The company's importance in the sector was highlighted by Huang in a Bloomberg interview in October, when he stated: 'We are probably the only AI company in the world that works with all the AI companies in the world.'

The crisis also raised concerns about possible restrictions on the semiconductor sector. Huang, who was close to President Donald Trump, led a corporation whose activity is seen as essential for the advancement of artificial intelligence.

Prior to the executive's departure, JPMorgan analysts had already warned about the growing risk of more restrictive regulations for shipping chips to China, including indirect routes. The bank maintains the expectation that Nvidia's team will maintain its leading position in the segment but warned that operational failures could generate new problems.

Market pressure was intensified by Nebius' results. The cloud computing startup exceeded financial expectations, but its projections ultimately disappointed investors, causing its shares to fall almost 20%. Simultaneously, competitor CoreWeave retreated 10% after a strong rise recorded on Wednesday.

The performance of these two companies reflects apprehension about the costs of infrastructure necessary for AI development. Building data centers demands tens of billions of dollars, while uncertainty persists about when investments in systems, equipment, and processing capacity will begin to yield returns.

This scenario gains greater relevance with the expectation that Anthropic will conduct its Initial Public Offering (IPO) the following week, with the potential to exceed US$ 1 trillion (R$ 5.55 trillion).

On Thursday, the technology sector showed the worst performance among S&P 500 segments. The negative pressure also affected major indicators of the American market and its component suppliers.

Nvidia and its CEO Jensen Huang are experiencing a serious crisis. A significant drop in the company's stock value occurred due to personal scandals involving Jensen Huang, which dealt a severe blow to investors.

Nvidia, which was named the world's first company with a market capitalization of $5.76 trillion in October 2025, is now facing continuous declines in quotations. Over the past month, the company's value has fallen to $4.18 trillion, resulting in a loss of approximately $1.58 trillion for investors. This financial damage is equivalent to the entire GDP of Indonesia and exceeds the economy of Saudi Arabia.

In the last month, Nvidia shares have dropped by approximately 24 percent. Moreover, in just five days after details of romantic relationships surfaced, Nvidia shares lost more than 10 percent.

Several instances of romantic relationships have been revealed. Last week, reports emerged about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's romance with Alice Huang, a former employee of the Singaporean cloud computing company 'Megaspeed'. These relationships raised national security concerns, as Alice Huang was mentioned in numerous reports as a Chinese spy.

It was later revealed about a second alleged romance between Jensen Huang and Kimberly Powell, a vice president of healthcare at the same company. After this information became public, Jensen Huang publicly apologized, admitting he betrayed his wife, and stated his full commitment to protecting the company and American national security.

With the scandal escalating after the revelation of Jensen Huang's second relationship, concerns arose that the first connection might have been with a woman suspected of spying for China. This news increased pressure on Nvidia's board of directors, demanding that Huang be temporarily suspended and a new CEO found.

However, noticing the situation, figures such as Elon Musk expressed support, stating that if Nvidia's board decides to replace him, it would be an honor for him.

Amid uncertainty and disputes, major brokerage firms, including Bernstein, Baird, and Argus Research, significantly downgraded Nvidia's stock ratings. Bernstein even stated that 'patience is exhausted' regarding this situation and substantially lowered its target stock price. Analysts believe that stock market volatility may persist until clear signals regarding the political climate and leadership emerge.

After news emerged about the alleged affair of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the company suffered significant financial losses. On Monday, Nvidia shares dropped by 4.3%, leading to a decrease in the company's market capitalization by approximately $190 billion in a single day.

Against this backdrop, US President Donald Trump defended Jensen Huang. Despite Trump's statements, Nvidia shares continued to show a sharp decline.

The situation arose after reports surfaced regarding an affair between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, a former employee of the Singaporean cloud computing company 'Megaspeed'. These rumors raised national security concerns, as Alice Huang was mentioned in numerous reports as a Chinese spy.

President Trump stated that he had spoken with Jensen Huang by phone and fully trusts him. He called Huang a respected person and asserted that Huang was unaware of any connection to the suspicious network involving Chinese spies like Alice Huang. Furthermore, Trump clarified that the FBI is investigating the matter, believing Huang was not aware of everything.

Chairs of three US Congressional committees invited Jensen Huang to a closed-door meeting on November 18th to provide explanations regarding security measures and his relationship with Alice Huang. Meanwhile, shareholders filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Jose (California) against Nvidia and Huang, alleging that the company concealed national security risks from investors.

American officials are investigating whether the Singaporean company Megaspeed assisted China in delivering advanced Nvidia AI chips, thereby violating US export restrictions. According to a report by The New York Times, American intelligence agencies suspect that Alice Huang was gathering intelligence for Beijing.

Nvidia's board of directors stated that the independent directors' committee is examining the issue. However, the board emphasized that it found no evidence indicating the compromise of company secrets or national security.

Meanwhile, Jensen Huang sent a message to his employees, taking responsibility for a personal life mistake and promising full cooperation with the investigation. He publicly apologized for cheating on his wife and reaffirmed his complete commitment to protecting the company and America's national security. While Nvidia, the leading chip sector company, saw a significant rise of 6.9% on the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on Monday, its shares closed at $178.67.