Nvidia Corp.'s investigation into Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang's relationship with an alleged Chinese spy has raised a series of once-unthinkable questions, including whether the man at the centre of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom could be at risk of losing his job.

Nvidia shares slid as much as 8.8% on Monday after Huang disclosed the romantic relationship in a memo to employees, at one point wiping out nearly $400 billion in market value. The company's board is assembling a committee of independent directors who will work with external legal counsel to investigate the matter.

The revelation has left investors weighing a range of possibilities that could affect not just Huang and Nvidia, but the entire AI industry. Nvidia, the leading maker of AI chips, has used its financial strength to back dozens of major players, from frontier labs such as OpenAI to cloud computing companies such as CoreWeave Inc. Huang has also been among the most vocal advocates of AI, from Washington to Wall Street.

“It brings the stewardship of one of America's most important companies, and the architect of the US AI trajectory, under debate, as well as calling judgment into account,” Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said in a note.

Huang had previously said there was nothing inappropriate about his relationship with the woman, who worked for a Singapore-based customer.

“I was unfaithful to my wife,” Huang, 63, said in the memo. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did.

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