Woman Close to Nvidia CEO Passed Information to China; Trump Was Told but Has Taken No Action in a Year
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has come to the attention of Chinese intelligence, The New York Times has reported. U.S. agencies concluded that Alice Huang, a Chinese executive associated with him, was passing information to Beijing. President Donald Trump was informed but has taken no action for a year.
According to the newspaper, which cites people familiar with the intelligence findings, Alice Huang (Huang Le) is a member of the leadership of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company. The article does not say what information she was allegedly passing to Beijing. U.S. agencies reportedly determined, however, that she actively cooperates with Chinese authorities.
U.S. authorities had long suspected that she was helping China get around restrictions on access to advanced AI chips. Surveillance showed, however, that she maintains a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was born in Taiwan. The newspaper does not describe the nature or closeness of their relationship in detail.
According to the newspaper, the findings set off alarm at the White House because they raise the risk that Beijing gained insight into Trump’s views on issues crucial to both countries, including chip exports, which may come up in talks during the president’s visit to China planned for November. Nvidia is currently the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization, and its products are the foundation of artificial intelligence development.
The Times reports that Trump decided not to respond because he feared disrupting sales of Nvidia chips and further complicating trade relations with China.
Jensen Huang did not receive a so-called defensive briefing, a warning that intelligence agencies give to U.S. citizens who are targets of foreign intelligence. The newspaper notes that it is not known whether the decision was driven by a desire to protect ongoing surveillance, which continues.
Officials said that initially it was not believed the Nvidia chief knew that Huang Le was gathering information; some senior administration officials doubt, however, that he could have remained unaware.
The head of the American company has built a close relationship with President Donald Trump and brought about a loosening of restrictions on chip exports to China.
According to officials cited by the newspaper, the close relationship with Trump has held back efforts within the administration to oppose chip sales, and some investigations and sanctions proposals in this area have stalled at the Commerce Department.
Huang also sat at the head table during the September state dinner in honor of Xi Jinping, chairman of the People’s Republic of China.
Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo stated that Huang’s contacts with Huang Le are “not unusual,” because meeting with customers is part of a CEO’s job, and Huang speaks with thousands of customer executives each year.
He added that Nvidia is confident the U.S. government would have informed the company of a threat. He also said that customers such as Megaspeed receive ordinary business information, not trade secrets.
Megaspeed said its current leadership is treating the matter “extremely seriously.” The Singapore-based company acts as an intermediary, buying Nvidia chips and making computing power available to Chinese firms.
A Malaysian sister company bought equipment containing Nvidia chips worth at least $4.8 billion between June 2024 and February 2026. Investigators suspect that some of the chips are being illegally sent to China. An investigation into Megaspeed, which the Commerce Department has been conducting since late 2024, was handed over to prosecutors this year.
According to the Times, Huang Le, who was previously associated with Chinese banks, allegedly boasted of her acquaintance with the Nvidia chief in order to raise funds. U.S. agencies, conducting electronic surveillance, discovered that she was in contact with Jensen Huang. The article does not say how close their contacts are or what nature they have.
The newspaper also recalls that Huang successfully lobbied the Trump administration to ease regulations and restrictions on chip sales to China. Among other things, he negotiated an agreement under which the U.S. government receives 25% of revenue from some chips approved for sale to China. According to sources, Nvidia donated at least $20 million to a fund for building Trump’s ballroom and pledged to invest $500 billion in the United States.
From Washington, Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
