Nvidia: weekly briefing
26 Oct – 2 Nov 2026
Top stories
- Reported Chinese spy plot near Nvidia's CEO draws official denials (Fox Business, 29 Oct) — The New York Times reported that U.S. officials concluded a former executive suspected of gathering intelligence for China met Jensen Huang several times. China rejected the allegations, while Nvidia said the meetings were not unusual.
- US Justice Department questions Nvidia's $12.9bn Hugging Face deal (CNBC, 28 Oct) — CNBC, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that the Justice Department is examining whether the acquisition could affect competitors. Nvidia declined to comment, and its $20bn Groq deal has also drawn scrutiny.
- Nvidia to invest $3bn in Meta's share offering (Quartz, 27 Oct) — Nvidia will put $3 billion into Meta's equity offering, and the companies will work together on performance improvements for Meta's Muse AI models. Meta plans to expand its use of Nvidia chips and networking products for AI agents.
- Apple overtakes Nvidia as world's most valuable company (The Straits Times, 31 Oct) — Apple reclaimed the top market value on 30 October as Nvidia shares fell 4.2%, with investors favouring a company that has spent less on AI infrastructure. The Straits Times, citing Bloomberg, said the Nasdaq 100 fell 6.7% in October.
- OpenAI plans to buy Google TPUs, easing reliance on Nvidia (TechRadar, 1 Nov) — According to The Information, OpenAI intends to purchase Google's tensor processing units, with financial terms undisclosed. TechRadar reported that the move would mark a first step away from depending solely on Nvidia's chips.
Trends
This week's stories focus on Nvidia's relationships and market position. The Hugging Face probe and the reported spy plot both raise scrutiny of Nvidia's deals and ties with customers and officials, while the Meta investment deepens a circular financing link with a major customer. Last week's briefing framed stock pressure and financing strain as tests of AI spending, and those concerns sharpened: Apple overtook Nvidia as the most valuable company amid AI-spending doubts, and the Nasdaq 100 fell in October. Expansion continued, as Nvidia took larger stakes. Supply diversification, a theme from last week, reappeared through OpenAI's reported Google TPU purchase. The China chip order reports did not recur this week.
What it means (opinion)
Opinion, for the site: Nvidia's position looks increasingly defined by how its investments and customer ties are read, not only by chip demand. Investing in customers such as Meta, backing neocloud borrowing, and buying companies like Hugging Face may strengthen its ecosystem, yet each move now invites regulatory and investor questions. The OpenAI report suggests that Nvidia's largest buyers are seeking alternatives, which could weaken pricing power over time. Next week, watch whether the Justice Department's inquiry widens, how officials respond to the reported spy assessment, and whether the Naver share issue on 6 November proceeds as scheduled. Investor sentiment ahead of Nvidia's 17 November earnings will also be a key signal of whether AI spending concerns are easing or deepening.
AI-assisted summary of public reporting; the analysis is opinion. Sources are linked above.