Nvidia's Jensen Huang reportedly targeted by Chinese spy, NYT says

The New York Times reports, citing anonymous sources, that US officials believe Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was the target of a Chinese government intelligence operation. The alleged operative is Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, an executive at the Singapore data center firm Megaspeed. She is no relation to Jensen Huang. None of this has been confirmed by the government, and the White House, CIA and NSA declined to comment to the Times.

What the report says

US agencies were reportedly watching Alice Huang because they suspected her of helping route advanced Nvidia chips to China. That surveillance, according to the report, led officials to conclude she was an intelligence asset passing information to Beijing. It also showed her in contact with an American, later identified as Jensen Huang. TechCrunch notes she was photographed with him at several business dinners in the Singapore region, and that agencies had been following her for about a year.

The worry, per the sources, was that she could learn about Nvidia’s plans and about the CEO’s push to persuade the Trump administration to allow more advanced chip exports to China.

Engadget and Tom’s Hardware, summarizing the Times, say President Trump was briefed on the matter roughly a year ago and chose not to act. The Times reportedly notes he has been wary of anything that could hurt Nvidia’s sales or complicate trade with China. Jensen Huang reportedly never received a defensive briefing, the kind of warning sometimes given to Americans targeted by foreign spies. The report says it is unclear whether officials held back because they feared alerting Alice Huang, who is still reportedly under surveillance.

Megaspeed’s Malaysian sister company reportedly purchased Nvidia-based equipment worth at least $4.8 billion in under two years, which the Times calls an unusually large volume for a small, obscure firm. Alice Huang’s own public profile is thin, and her role at Megaspeed has been described inconsistently in its paperwork.

Nvidia’s response

Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo said the diversion allegations against Megaspeed were investigated and debunked last year. He said Jensen Huang’s dealings with Alice Huang were “not unusual or unexpected,” adding that the CEO speaks with thousands of customer executives every year. Nvidia also says regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information, not trade secrets, and “zero information relevant to national security.” The company believes the US government would have told it about any threat to American industry.

Why it matters

Nvidia sits at the center of US AI efforts, and its chip exports to China are a live policy question. PC Gamer notes the US has approved sales of some AI chips to China, though not the top-end Blackwell parts, and that older H200 cards are reportedly arriving there in small quantities. TechCrunch adds that the Commerce Department investigated Megaspeed in 2025 over suspicions it helped Chinese companies get around export rules.

What we don’t know yet

The report does not say what information Alice Huang may have sent to Beijing. Who in the government knew what, and when, is also unresolved, as is her current standing at Megaspeed.