Can Wachtell's Joon H. Kim clear Jensen Huang over Alice Huang claims?

Nvidia's independent board members announced Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, that they retained Joon H. Kim and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct what the board called a "thorough and independent investigation" into CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and business executive whom U.S. intelligence agencies believe spied for Beijing.

The board had said Sunday it would open an independent investigation into whether Huang was the "target of a foreign intelligence effort." "There is no excuse for what I did," he wrote. "I am deeply sorry."

The board said it had "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets" were compromised. The New York Times reported last month that U.S. spy agencies found Alice Huang illegally smuggled advanced AI chips into China while developing a close relationship with Jensen Huang. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the allegation "unsubstantiated." President Donald Trump said the FBI was looking into the affair and that he had spoken with Huang.

Kim is a former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is among Wall Street's most prominent law firms.

Investors are treating the matter as a material risk. Nvidia shares fell 5.5% Tuesday, down about 10% since Friday's close and roughly 18% for the month. The sell-off comes ahead of the company's earnings report next week.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it for decades.