Nvidia Fallout Widens: Commerce Secretary Lutnick To Appear Voluntarily Before Senate, Huang Agrees To Testify Before Thanksgiving

• Earlier this week, Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott also asked former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to appear before the panel.
• Huang has agreed to testify before House committees in a closed-door session before Thanksgiving, House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast said Thursday.
• Reuters reported that more than $3 billion in Chinese AI projects are built around restricted Nvidia chips.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has reportedly agreed to appear voluntarily before the Senate Banking Committee next month, as scrutiny of his department’s oversight of Nvidia’s (NVDA) chip exports to China mounts in Washington.

Lutnick’s spokesperson said he had “proactively agreed to appear voluntarily” before the committee, NBC News reported. He is scheduled to testify on December 10.

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The announcement follows letters sent Thursday by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC), who asked Lutnick and former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to testify at separate hearings. Scott’s letter to Lutnick called on him to address reports about Nvidia and the Commerce Department’s role in chip exports, citing potential “national security concerns.”

Nvidia has lost about $550 billion in market value over five days, marking its largest five-day decline since going public. NVDA stock is down 31% from its peak and is on track to log a sixth consecutive week in the red, its longest weekly losing streak since 2012. 

The shares were up around 1% in pre-market trade on Friday and among the top-trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment on the platform around Nvidia trended in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, with chatter at ‘extremely high’ levels.

Jensen Huang To Appear Before Congress Before Thanksgiving

Senator Scott asked Huang to appear on December 3. He also said the panel could issue a subpoena to compel his testimony. “The American people deserve answers,” Scott said in a post on X.

Huang, who resigned as Nvidia’s CEO on Thursday, has also agreed to testify before Congress by Thanksgiving, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast (R-FL) said, according to Bloomberg. The report said Huang agreed after several senior lawmakers threatened to subpoena him. The session is expected to take place behind closed doors.

“He has some very serious questions to answer,” Mast said. He has previously said he disagrees with Huang over U.S. export controls.

Lawmakers From Both Parties Press Commerce Department On Chip Exports

Lawmakers from both parties have asked whether the U.S. Commerce Department did enough to limit AI chip sales to China. Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) said Lutnick “appears to have used loopholes to allow some of these chip sales to occur,” in an appearance on Fox News.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the committee’s incoming chair, said Lutnick and a Commerce undersecretary “must explain why they have not closed export control loopholes.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) also told Lutnick they are investigating approvals for Nvidia chip sales to companies linked to the Chinese government, military and sanctioned entities.

Mast has called for an investigation into the Commerce Department’s role, while saying he has confidence in Lutnick.

$3B In China Projects Built Around Restricted Nvidia Chips

Reuters reported Friday that it identified more than $3 billion in Chinese computing projects built around restricted Nvidia processors. The report said the estimate was based on a review of more than 150 procurement notices and filings. It includes planned investments and signed contracts for buildings and power systems, not just chip purchases.

Reuters said it had not been able to confirm whether the projects were linked to Megaspeed or to the allegations involving Huang.

Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that CNBC reported had purchased more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over two years, has denied illegally diverting chips to China.

Read also: Tom Lee Says Jensen Huang Exit Doesn’t Change His Bullish Tech Outlook: AVGO, AMD Stocks Lead Chip Rally

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