Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's image tarnished by board investigation and affair, analysts say

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Set us as preferred Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, leader of one of the world’s hottest chipmakers, is under immense scrutiny after he admitted to an extramarital affair, and the company’s board said it plans to investigate him in light of recent reporting that he was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.The stunning admission follows a series of reports that Nvidia’s leader was targeted by former Megaspeed International executive Alice Huang, who the U.S.

government suspects was recruited by a Chinese spy agency.The CEO previously denied having anything but a “normal” relationship with the woman.Analysts say this will prompt calls for closer examination of tech companies’ dealings with China.“This is a black eye moment for Jensen and will spark multiple congressional inquiries at a minimum and will create an overhang on the stock for a myriad of reasons,” said Daniel Ives, partner and senior managing director at merchant bank Yorkville Ives & Co.

in an equity research note.“This will also increase major scrutiny regarding selling chips to China, which remains a key battleground issue in DC,” wrote Ives, who has an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Nvidia’s board said in a statement on Sunday that it has confidence in Huang and his leadership team.On Sunday in after-hours trading, Nvidia’s stock was $188.70 a share, up about 1%.

Business Santa Clara chipmaker Nvidia has ridden the AI revolution to briefly vault over Microsoft and Apple and become the world’s most valuable company.“While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information,” Nvidia’s board said.In a staff memo, Huang apologized to his family and Nvidia employees.

“I was unfaithful to my wife,” Huang wrote...