Technology giant Nvidia and its Chief Executive Officer, Jensen Huang, have been sued in a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing them of misleading shareholders over allegations linking Huang to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in a federal court in San Jose, California, alleges that the company concealed information about Huang’s alleged relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed, who is not related to him.
According to the complaint, the alleged relationship raised national security concerns that could damage Nvidia’s reputation and business prospects.
The allegations were previously reported by The New York Times, which said US authorities had concluded that Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset.
Jensen Huang reportedly acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife in a message to Nvidia employees but did not provide details of the alleged relationship.
Nvidia announced on Sunday that it had launched an investigation into the matter but had not immediately responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
The development comes as Nvidia continues to dominate the global artificial intelligence chip market, with its co-founder Huang emerging as one of the most prominent figures in the technology industry.
Nvidia shares fell by 4.3 per cent on Monday, wiping approximately 190 billion dollars off the company's market value.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of shareholders led by Mark Kistenmacher, seeks unspecified damages from the company and its Chief Executive Officer.
The allegations remain subject to legal proceedings.
