Nvidia’s value tumbles by $430bn since spy allegations, as major US law firm hired to investigate claims - business live

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The crisis gripping Nvidia is gathering pace, with around $430bn wiped off the value of the world’s most valuable company since it was hit by a spying scandal.

Overnight, Nvidia announced it has hired a former top federal prosecutor to help probe chief executive Jensen Huang’s relationship with a suspected Chinese spy.

The company’s board have retained Joon H. Kim , the former acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York, and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct “a thorough and independent investigation”.

Wachtell is a heavyweight corporate law firm. In 2022 it was hired by Twitter to force Elon Musk to complete his $44bn takeover, for example, and has a track record of advising major companies on issues such as mergers and corporate governance.

It will now look into the circumstances of Huang’s affair – thought to be with Alice Huang , the head of Nvidia customer Megaspeed , who US officials believe is a Chinese spy.

Although Beijing has denied allegations that it operated an espionage operation targeting Jensen Huang , Nvidia’s value has been buffeted this week.

Yesterday, its shares fell by almost 5.5%, adding to the 4.27% drop on Monday. This has pulled the company’s value down to $4.07tn, from $4.50bn before the story broke last weekend.

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