Nvidia opens probe of CEO Huang being targeted by possible Chinese spy

US officials allege that a Chinese businesswoman, Alice Huang, closely associated with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, was a spy for Beijing. Huang befriended Huang while his company was purchasing billions of dollars worth of Nvidia's AI chips. According to a memo circulated among Trump's policymakers, Huang was allegedly recruited to learn about American AI chips and possibly influence the Nvidia chief to help China acquire the company's most advanced processors.

Huang's company, Megaspeed, began buying Nvidia chips in 2024, the same year she was photographed with Huang at a bar in Taipei. Despite Nvidia being prohibited from selling its top data center chips to China, Megaspeed can utilize the same hardware offshore, thus bypassing US export controls. Huang is linked to a network of companies and investors around Shanghai and Zhejiang Province, which has ties to Shanghai officials and China's defense sector.

This network has transitioned from mobile video games into data centers. The Ministry of State Security, China's primary espionage agency, is reportedly interested in technology as the key to dominance in the economic world. Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo stated that the company does not share classified information with customers and that they do not request Washington to alter its chip policy towards China. The Chinese embassy dismissed the reports as unsubstantiated and smears against China.