U.S. intelligence officials claim Alice Huang, an executive at the Singapore-based firm Megaspeed, was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to spy on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to a memo reported by multiple media outlets. The New York Times was first to report on the memo, which was reportedly based on U.S. intelligence, and the Financial Times subsequently reported that the memo also claimed Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with Alice Huang.
Nvidia Denies Claims About Jensen Huang's Alleged Spy Contact
The memo claimed Huang’s purported goal was to convince Jensen Huang to lobby U.S. officials to allow chip exports to China. In response, an Nvidia spokesperson told the NYT that Jensen Huang’s interactions with Alice Huang were “not unusual,” and that the company does not share classified information with its customers. The company has repeatedly and firmly denied that Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang was anything but a typical business contact.
Congressional and International Concerns
On Nov. 5, a group of House Republican committee chairs asked Jensen Huang to give them a briefing on his relationship with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s controls over sensitive information, saying they need to determine “the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk.” They gave him a Nov. 11 deadline to set a date for their meeting. Meanwhile, authorities in the U.S., Singapore and Taiwan all had reason to believe that Alice Huang might be a Chinese spy, according to a Wall Street Journal report from Oct. 31.
(FT) – The US government believes Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with a Chinese woman who was recruited to spy for China’s main intelligence agency, according to people familiar with the matter.@FT $NVDA https://t.co/R49cFzZ9MX pic.twitter.com/xnwYG1PbQo
Questions Over a Chinese Chip Buyer
A separate aspect of the reporting examined New Matrix, a Chinese company authorized by the U.S. Commerce Department to buy advanced Nvidia chips. However, at the office address listed by New Matrix, reporters only found “a hollow gray shell,” raising concerns that it could be a front for a blacklisted private equity firm. An Nvidia spokesperson said the company sells “the first, best and most of our technology in America.”
More on Alice Huang
FT: “. The chairs of the House committees on China, foreign affairs and intelligence wrote to Huang this week asking him to appear before a joint closed-door briefing for their committees on November 18.”@FT $NVDAhttps://t.co/6GHlJgslAL pic.twitter.com/3uFj4KaHF3
