Meet the short seller that flagged Nvidia’s ‘significant China problem’ six months ago—including ‘uncomfortably close’ ties with Alice Huang

Six months ago, Nvidia's stock reached a peak of $235.74 per share. However, while others were focused on the AI boom and Nvidia's growing market cap, one research firm noticed a significant issue: Nvidia's exposure to China. In a May report, short seller Culper Research warned of Nvidia's China problem, specifically highlighting the close relationship between CEO Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, a Chinese executive at Megaspeed International.

Culper Research argued that over 20% of Nvidia's fiscal 2026 compute revenue came from China, despite the company's claims that its China business had fallen to zero due to U.S. export restrictions in April 2025. The firm suspected that this revenue was generated through the smuggling of restricted GPUs to Chinese customers and via Southeast Asian intermediaries purchasing Nvidia hardware for Chinese companies.

Culper Research pointed to Singapore-based Megaspeed International, which they alleged was secretly funded by China's Alibaba through a network of shell companies, allowing Chinese companies to access Nvidia's advanced AI chips.

One of the most significant aspects of Culper Research's report was their investigation into Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive with a close relationship with Jensen Huang. The report questioned Huang's continued influence over Nvidia and her relationship, but did not establish any romantic ties between the two. Culper Research noted that Huang had been seen with Alice Huang in June 2024, shortly after the Apex/Alibaba pledge was filed, and again in Taiwan in May 2025, just weeks after the U.S. trade restrictions were announced.

The report also mentioned that Huang visited Megaspeed-linked data centers multiple times, always accompanied by Alibaba representatives.

Culper Research concluded that this close relationship presented a significant risk for Nvidia, as Beijing had blocked Nvidia imports in favor of its own domestic chipmakers. The firm's review of trade records suggested a substantial decline in shipments from China in the first quarter of 2026, with mainland operators reporting "very few orders" in China, posing a "huge blow to Nvidia financially."