Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was reportedly a target of a Chinese government intelligence operative, according to a recent report from The New York Times. The individual, identified as Alice Huang (also known as Huang Le), was allegedly under surveillance by U.S. agencies due to suspicions of involvement in smuggling data center chips from Singapore. During this investigation, officials reportedly concluded that Alice Huang was acting as an intelligence asset.
Sources briefed on the matter indicated that Alice Huang had a close relationship with Jensen Huang, though they are not related. Officials expressed concern that this relationship could have allowed Alice Huang to extract information beneficial to the Chinese state, given Nvidia's crucial role in U.S. artificial intelligence development. At the time, Jensen Huang was reportedly not briefed on the threat of foreign intelligence services, and it was later implied that Nvidia was also not informed about Alice Huang.
The Nvidia CEO has a known relationship with former U.S. President Donald Trump, having previously traveled with him to China and been addressed by him at an AI event. Despite U.S. restrictions, some AI chips are permitted for sale to China, though not the most advanced Blackwell chips. Reports indicate that older Nvidia H200 cards are beginning to reach China in limited quantities.
Nvidia has contested some aspects of the New York Times report. A company spokesperson stated that allegations of chip smuggling involving Megaspeed, a data center company under scrutiny, were debunked last year. The spokesperson also downplayed the significance of Jensen Huang's interactions with Alice Huang, asserting that meetings with customer executives are a routine part of a CEO's responsibilities and that Jensen Huang likely shared only "ordinary business information" rather than sensitive data.
Nvidia believes the U.S. government would have notified the company if there were any perceived threats to American industry. The White House, CIA, and NSA have declined to comment on the report. The exact details of who knew what and when remain unclear, and Alice Huang's current status with Megaspeed is also uncertain.