Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, is facing scrutiny following allegations that a close associate, Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, is suspected of being a spy for the Chinese government. According to reports from the New York Times and the Financial Times on November 6, high-ranking officials in the Trump administration discussed intelligence suggesting Alice Huang was a spy for China's Ministry of State Security last spring. The FT noted that U.S. officials believe the two are in a romantic relationship.
Reports indicate that Chinese intelligence agencies recruited Alice to gather information on U.S.-made artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and to facilitate NVIDIA's export of higher-spec semiconductors to China. The two were seen together at an industry event in Taipei in June 2024, where a photo circulated on social media platform LinkedIn.
Alice Huang, a Chinese national fluent in English, is said to have connections with senior figures in the AI semiconductor sector and businesses in Shanghai and Zhejiang province. Her company, Megaspeed, has been building data centers in Southeast Asia and recently collaborated with Chinese tech giant Alibaba. The NYT suggested that Chinese authorities may have opened a 'backdoor' to gain access to NVIDIA's semiconductors, while the U.S. government has prohibited the export of advanced AI semiconductors to China.
Both Jensen Huang and Alice Huang have reportedly been under surveillance by their respective countries' intelligence agencies. The NYT reported that Chinese intelligence targeted Jensen Huang, while U.S. intelligence monitored Alice at least once a year. Additionally, U.S. authorities informed then-President Donald Trump about the relationship between the two last year.
In response, NVIDIA issued a statement asserting that "(our clients) do not ask us to change U.S. laws or advocate for sales to China," as reported by The Times. The company emphasized that it does not share confidential information with clients.
Currently, the leadership of three key Republican committees in the House of Representatives has requested that Jensen Huang attend a closed briefing later this month. According to The Hill, John Molinar, chair of the U.S.-China Strategic Competition Special Committee, Brian Mast, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rick Crawford, chair of the Intelligence Committee, have asked Jensen Huang to respond to questions regarding his interactions with Alice Huang and security protocols related to foreign hostile espionage activities during a briefing scheduled for November 18.
The Hill also reported that NVIDIA stated Megaspeed is a regional client and that the allegations against Alice Huang were already refuted last year. Furthermore, Jensen Huang described his relationship with Alice as "normal and nothing special regarding Megaspeed," according to Taiwan News, citing Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to the allegations at the end of last month, stating they are "baseless and aimed at discrediting China."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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